XSRA's Flame
by Xera Stark
Summary: As several pieces of a phoenix's past resurface, his life can only shift from a path of hiding to new routes as challenges arise. Corporations thrive, new powers are discovered, and new sciences are developed as Remnant's technologies evolve. Follow an adventurous story of comedy, entertainment, and thought. But be prepared for emotion, action, and imagery. Maybe some fluff, too.
1. Fate's Grip

**Authors Note: Hiya, my name is Xera and this is my first FanFic, I would love to get some feedback and some friendly criticism from anyone and everyone. It will definitely help out and would mean a lot to know that people want to read more about this story. Well, when I say "my" FanFic, I'm actually writing this with my little sister. We plan on alternating between the two of us, at least, that's what we plan on happening, anyway. Have fun guys!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, you probably saw this coming, but I don't actually own the setting of this story (Beacon, Remnant, Vytal, etc.), oh and the RWBY characters too, the amazing ****Monty Oum**** is the real MVP here (Owner of said stuff) as well as ****Roosterteeth****. My sister and I only own our OC's, concept ideas, technological theories, self-explained sciences, my own plotlines, some faunus species, and there's probably more in here that are of my own design. So yeah. Now that I got that out of the way, here's Chapter 1!**

***Chapter 1 Rework: Just thought I'd add some back story and plot to this intro chapter, It was kind of short to begin with.**

****This is a message from the future me, currently on the date of chapter 53! I'd like to say that the story gets better the further you go, and that looking back, the beginning is a bit underdeveloped. So please keep that in mind if you're reading this.**

*****Another future me! Woo, timeline jumping. Always dangerous but very fun indeed. I have currently just finished chapter 59. And now that I've given it some thought, I shall rework some of these earlier chapters to be somewhat more tolerable! Yay. This'll be interesting… I'm cringing already.**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 1: Fate's Grip

**Narrator POV**

"Let me tell you a story, a tale of legends and heroes, protectors of Remnant, guardians... as some would call them."

"But me, I prefer to call them by name, true huntsman and huntresses of the modern era. Fighters who learn and train to protect those who can't protect themselves."

"But this story, however extensive it may seem, revolves around one huntsman in particular. A huntsman-in-training actually. Born from fire and flame, raised from the ashes of his forbearer's hidden history and guarded by the watch of an ancient protector... Xera Stark is one of two that still survive. They are the last remnants of an entire race. That race, being mythical in and of itself, is no less _real_ than all the rest."

"The Phoenix, dangerously close to extinction, are an ancient species of faunus that date back centuries into the past. Before the faunus war, back when faunus and humans fought together... _thrived_ together, back before discrimination and lesser morality."

"You see... the Phoenix were a peaceful race. They fought when needed but only at the greatest of requests. The legend of the Phoenix was told for years... centuries even. But, those stories could only last so long. Now... I'm the only one who remembers."

"The Phoenix were believed to be powerful beings, more powerful than all of Remnant. Power beyond comprehension, and yet... only few have ever seen such ability. If a fully realized Phoenix trains and focuses all their energy into their power during their lifetime, they can achieve aura levels beyond the capacity of anyone else in the world and maintain a personal control over their own aura that exceeds the reaches of history."

"It was this power that caused their fall and unfortunately… their very destruction. The humans saw this as a threat and believed that no being should possess that much power. And so... The Angels of Death Corporation was created."

"The AOD hunted down the Phoenix, killing them and all ties to their family trees, cutting off all possible blood lines and effectively ending most of the Phoenix existence."

"It was then that they went into hiding. They disappeared from the world and remained, shadowed from all eyes that seek them out. They lived among the people of the Remnant and concealed their heritage for the next fifty years."

"That was until the AOD developed the technology to track the aura signatures of the Phoenix race. Slowly... the species started to dwindle in numbers. Quietly hunted down and removed from this world, the corporation eventually rid all of Remnant of the powerful beings."

"All of the Phoenix were taken from this timeline... except for two. The only two that remained hidden. These two... found a way to conceal their aura signature and stay alive. Over the years, the ancient race faded into legends, and eventually... became myths."

"As all legends do."

"Among those who believed the race to be gone, lost in history and non-existent, there were very few that knew the truth. Those two remaining Phoenix slowly extended their bloodline, passing off the heritage to their kin. Over the years they hid, deep within society, concealed and hidden from the world… they built a family."

"Xera Stark is the current descendant of the last remaining pure-bred bloodline for the Phoenix. He alone has great power, abilities he has yet to understand or know what he's truly capable of. But when the time comes, Xera will need to step up and defend the world from an eminent darkness. For I fear that the lights of this story will vanish. Flames that once blaze with the fire of hope… will become fleeting in their efforts to remain."

"Xera must take part to stop what's coming. If he fails… the world may fall into darkness once again."

"Until he is truly needed, he will live amongst us. His fate yet to be revealed. His destiny still unknown to him. Xera doesn't know what power he holds, but I suspect he will soon find out."

"A darkness is descending upon humanity. It has been manifesting in the shadows for eternity, preparing for a date that will soon come to pass."

"The world must be prepared… or it will shatter under the light of the fragmented moon."

"_This_ is the story of Xera Stark... a life of Heroism... Friendship... and Comfort. With no small amount of Humor too. But all stories, like the one I'm about to tell you, will come with a price, and unfortunately, that price... is death. For not all heroes escape it, and not all live without it, but for some... they survive with it for most of their lives and eventually... it will catch up to them."

"…and it will consume them."

* * *

**Xera's POV**

I burst through the trees and brush, speeding away from the one person I never wanted to see again. They were following close behind. I could hear their breathing, their rushed footsteps across the wooded ground, the occasional evil chuckle sounding through the air as they chased after me.

_"So this is how I die, by the hands of the one who started this all, the one who changed everything."_

***Crack!***

A sharp, high pitched explosion pierced through the air, the familiar whistling sound getting louder as the bullet closed the gap between us. Time seemed to slow down as I ducked and weaved through the trees, dodging more and more bullets as I ran. Hollow point rounds slammed into the trees around me, bursting wood and bark fragments in every direction.

_"I need to lose him soon, I can't keep this up for long."_ I thought as I rushed through the forest.

***Crack!***

Another bullet whistled by my ear, barely grazing a few strands of my hair. I turned back to see my pursuer only a few meters behind me, a glint of evil passing over their crimson eyes as they released a hail of bullets my way.

Taking a sharp turn, I took cover behind a thick oak tree, evading the wall of dust filled metal crashing into the tree I leaned against.

I took off running again once I heard a click sound through the air, _"Out of ammo, good."_

I thought quickly, taking the small window of opportunity and sprinted off again. Bolting through the trees, I tried to evade and dodge as best I could when suddenly… I felt a sharp pain in my left leg.

The ground came up as fast as the pain arose, pulling me in then throwing me across roots and dirt, my hands instinctively clutching my thigh trying to relieve the pain coursing through me. If the tumble weren't already a heavy strain. My speed then came to a dead stop as I slammed against a tall tree, stopping my attempt to escape.

I sat there, dazed and in pain as a shadow loomed over me. My breathing quickened, and my vision started to dull as my head throbbed from the sudden impact.

Looking up, I saw the face of a ruthless killer, a person willing to do anything just for their own personal pride. I was just another slot on their reputation, filled with another successful execution... yet this one… was personal. This was the face of my murderer, I'm going to die and there's nothing I can do.

My vision darkened, my surroundings blurred and colors blended as I continued to lose blood from my leg. The image of the forest grew grey as a barrel of a gun lifted into view, cold metal placed against my forehead as I look up.

Suddenly, the world went black, all I could see was darkness all around me. I was falling through an endless void of emptiness. There was nothing.

_"Where am I? Why am I so cold? Am I dead?"_

Questions rushed through my head as I looked around, only to see nothing but darkness, a pitch black surrounding me on all sides.

I kept free falling in the endless deep pit of darkness. Nothing to hold me to this world as I slipped further into unconsciousness. It seemed endless. I let myself go limp and fall through the air as I stared helplessly into my pitch black surroundings.

Before long, my eyes flashed for a moment.

Images blazed through my mind, scenes playing out in my head, memories resurfacing and coming together, linking to each other and creating a timeline. My life flashed before my eyes, everything I've ever done, playing in my mind like a sped up movie. I saw my friends, my home, my family, all of it flashed by and memories flooded through my head. A scene began to play as more memories linked together, displaying my life a few months ago, back to where it all began...

* * *

**(**_A Few Months Ago_**)**

I walked through the doors of the school to only see some grape soda miss my face and hit the wall beside me. Someone came running my direction in a purple battle skirt with white snowflakes on it.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed holding an empty soda can. _She was able to volley soda across the room by accident? Impressive. I think I've seen her before. Though, I never decided to draw attention to myself at all. _With a simple nod, I walked away.

It was nothing to worry about.

She wouldn't have it though.

"I'm Skyla, Skyla Xerious."

I gave her a small wave, courteously. This was my last day, I didn't need anything else in my life. Blowing her off would've been rude, but isn't it also rude to force yourself onto another? _At least she said her name first, and didn't immediately ask for mine-_

"What's your name?" She asked.

_Great… _"Xera." I responded after a few moments, stuffing my hands into my pockets as I did so.

"Xera. Nice name. I like it!"

_Awesome! Glad you liked it! Thank you so much for telling me… Inner thoughts aside, she seems nice. I should stop judging her in my head. _"Are you always this outgoing?" I asked looking her way, skillfully avoiding her dark violet eyes. _Were those cans of ginger ale always in those vending machines?_

"Ah… no not really but I can be sometimes." She said, her eyes turning a lighter color. Her irises matched the choker necklace hugging her neck; a deep purple.

I nodded my head with a tilt, just accepting her personality. More than likely, she just struck a conversation to make the apology less awkward.

So… I turned the next corner and looked back.

She wasn't there.

With a curious peak, I noticed her walking away to catch up with a few other girls who passed by.

_Right, back to what I was doing. _I suddenly stopped, tilting my gaze up in thought… before that look soon turned into a grimace. _Shoot… I forgot to grab a snack. She distracted me!_

* * *

**Author's Note: Just a little introduction to some OC's. Anyway, more will be explained and further detailed in later chapters to help you get to know the characters. Like I said up top, I am co-writing this story with Sky and she really enjoys dialogue and random moments. She is writing the next chapter in Skyla's POV during her encounter with Xera, just as a heads up. Anyway…**

**Cya XD**


	2. Lunch Activities

XSRA's Flame Chapter 2: Lunch Activities

**Skyla POV**

I sat at the regular noisy lunch table staring down at my uneaten sandwich in distain. _Oh how I hate lunchtime. So boring. It's the same every single day…_

_Who could eat this stuff anyways?_ I looked over to one of my temporary school friends. She was happily stabbing into a salad. As much as I enjoyed the leafy destruction… how could she call that food?!

"Hey Sky, can you open this for me?" Another asked, giggling a bit.

I shrugged still deep in thought as I grabbed the cold soda can. I tilted it to the side and opened the can only to see the purple soda spray out and hit the wall beside a guy who had just walked in.

He didn't look too fazed, but I was! How can you just accept that soda took flight and blanket the wall next to you?! I gasped as the girls frowned in disappointment about their plan failing. With an amused grin, I ran over to the guy in a hurry.

I had to apologize for my friends being… well… my friends.

He wore mostly green and black, not surprising. Many people here wear one color or two. He wore a green sweatshirt and sleek black sweatpants. His messy black hair fell in his face but never fully hid the eyes he had. I couldn't make out the eye color in my rush towards him.

"I am so sorry!" I said still holding the empty can in my hand. I hadn't placed it down so now it must look like I aimed for him. I grimaced at the thought of someone hating me for that silly reason.

He nodded and walked away. He freaking nodded and walked away after I had just missed his entire face with grape soda. I almost hit him in the face… with grape soda… and all he does is nod. Not just that, but everything about this should be alarming.

What is up with this guy?

I decided to follow him and introduce myself.

"I'm Skyla, Skyla Xerious."

He waved shyly towards me and kept quiet. He sped up his pacing causing me to fall behind. Letting out a huff, I quickened my pace falling back in line with him.

"What's your name?" I asked. He kept quiet again. I thought he was a mute until he spoke.

"Xera."

It was a short and simple answer but it was enough to make me continue the conversation.

"Xera. Nice name. I like it!"

"Are you always this outgoing?" He asked looking my way through his unkempt black bangs.

Even though I was looking straight at him, I mainly stared at his hair and he avoided my eyes, thankfully.

"Ah no, not really… but I can be sometimes." I stuttered awkwardly, looking away. When I looked back, he was gone. Disheartened by his eagerness to get away, I bounced over to my friends who were walking by and began walking with them. They were talking about hot guys in Beacon and how much they wished they wanted to go there. I barely listened because my thoughts were still occupied by the green stranger and why he had ignored me.

_Seriously? Was I that annoying?_

I scowled to myself and watched my feet walk along the tiled floor as I blocked out the usual chatter.

I can't wait to get to Beacon… because then I can get away from these people and maybe meet some new ones. It's impossible to get in that school. Top notch they say. I chuckled slightly to myself ignoring the looks my friends gave me. It took me a lifetime to get into that dang school. The bad thing is, I spent everything on that school. The good thing about leaving this place is that I'll never see anyone from this school again.

Once I reach the school, I know many people go there to become a huntress or a huntsman but I don't want to become a huntress, really.

Okay, maybe a little…

I sighed loudly and departed myself from the others to head to my room without any other objections. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I slowly withdrew a small notebook hidden beneath my mattress. I opened it up to see nothing written. Empty pages filled the book. Not even a title page. The cover was empty and was a plain white covering. So why did I still keep it?

* * *

**Just showing a second side to the story. Sky has her own little style, that I'm sure you'll be able to spot whenever she adds her additions to this little tale.**

***Edit: This'll be a long… long tale. Now I shall leave you… back to the future with me.**

**Now that the character introductions are out of the way, off to… wherever it is this'll lead to next. Beacon! Yeah, that's it.**

**Cya XP**


	3. Xera's Book

XSRA's Flame Chapter 3: Xera's Book

**Xera POV**

"Why am I so awkward around new people?" I muttered to myself as I walked down the halls of my school. It wasn't that I was socially awkward… I could converse with people just fine when I'm at ease. The difference is, I don't want to create those social situations.

As I walked down the hallway and took a bite out of a sandwich, I pulled a small book out of my sweatshirt pocket. I always keep it on me so no one could get their hands on it, and it also helps that I never take off my sweatshirt. I have my reasons for why, it's a personal thing. The book looks to be nothing special. It's banded in black, soft-leather covering, and has gold lettering on the front. I turned the book over and read the note engraved into the back written in similar text.

It read, "_Life is full of surprises, those that pass by without notice, and those that pull you in without a second thought. It's those opportunities in life that make you realize who you are, and creates the path for you to follow and become greater than you have already become. This Journal will help you find your way into your own future, and live life to its fullest degree. Keep this book close to your heart and never fear what lies ahead, I've always believed in you Xera."_

_-Love, Leona Stark._

Flipping the small book open in my hand, and turning to the bookmarked page, I read the date written at the top and pulled out a pen. I'm not much of a talkative person, but writing... now that's a different story. This small book is my personal journal of my life; one of five. I will never forget the person who gave them to me.

I approached the school courtyard, a large square of luscious grass, surrounded by pillars supporting the roof around its perimeter. The sky and sun beamed down and cast its light across the flowers that bordered the edges, and in front of me lay a stone pathway that winded its way toward the center of the courtyard. It encircled an oak tree that stood alone in the middle of the grass land. I smiled, smelling the familiar scent of roses and felt the gentle breeze ruffle my hair a little. I walked down the path and reached the massive oak tree towering above me. I jumped and climbed to my usual spot atop a thick branch and sat down, leaning against the trunk of the tree. I always come here whenever I need to get away from the bustling cafeteria during lunch time.

I looked down and started jotting down what happened today. It certainly wasn't expected to watch grape soda fly past my face, but that girl was the reason why I'm even writing this down. She surprised me with how she acted and insisted on knowing my name. Not too many people would even care to say sorry. I've become used to that kind of response in my life, humanity's just stopped caring anymore.

It was always filled with criticism, unjust judging, countless selfish actions, enough so that nothing ever truly gets done anymore. I never thought some stranger would even consider doing what that girl did. Skyla Xerious… I would like to meet her again sometime.

But, I doubt that would happen. Today is the last day of school and I've been admitted into Beacon, well known for being a prestigious academy. Beacon is the top school for training Huntsmen and Huntresses, bloodied heroes…

It could often times be fantasized to be an ideal occupation. Unfortunately, the death ratio of huntsmen to grimm… isn't exactly ideal in the slightest. Many of them die, but we still fall.

We're not immortal… unlike what they seem to be.

An infinite source of enemies can't truly be pushed back, could it? Could any one group of people fight back the ever crashing waves of an ocean?

Well, yeah. But it'd involve finding the source… and taking _that_ out of the equation.

Yet, we have yet to venture outside the walls of our 'safe' cities and civilizations.

I trained hard. My life's turn led me to push myself, drive myself, to become stronger by the day. Years passed, and now I can't wait to start my training when I'm in Beacon. I need to get stronger, I want to fight the evils of this world and make some amount of a difference, and I want to avenge what was lost and taken from me…

I will become a Huntsman. Not to sacrifice myself for the good of the people, or become a hero most only dream of being. I want to justify the scars my past left on my heart.

Scars that can never truly heal.

I will prove that it doesn't matter _what_ you are, it's what lies within you and what you do that will carve your path into the future. And if that is the only justification they had for ending a happy life? Then I'll be sure to make it my mission to return the favor.

If attending Beacon can assist with that… then so be it. I've already basically lived there for five years.

* * *

**Just a little back story and some character development. Yep, uh… one sec, ok that's about it. Let me know what you guys think.**

***Ooo, reasoning and drive.**

**Cya :P**


	4. To Beacon!

XSRA's Flame Chapter 4: To Beacon!

**Skyla's POV**

The bags are packed and the goodbyes are said. School is over and summer is finally here. Which also means it's time to head to Beacon. I quickly grabbed bags and rushed over to the train leading to the airship, where I parted with the crowd and boarded the vessel.

I hopped onto the train and sat down at the back of the car and placed my bags into a small storage compartment above. Pulling out a small book, I began to read. Several more people boarded the train but none usually sat towards the back so no one really bothered me. From the corner of my eye, I caught a blur of green board and disappear at the other far end of the compartment.

I slowly leaned out of mine to catch the face of the green but he had his back turned towards me. Sighing, I gave up and slid back into my seat and snuggled into the corner to continue my reading. I can't wait to begin training with the huntresses and huntsmen there to learn new skills and become better. That's what I truly look forward to. Too bad I won't see that Xera kid again. Though he ultimately looked like a person who people wouldn't spare a second glance at, I did but what caught my attention most were his eyes.

Many people have unique interesting eyes, I myself own a pair of dark violet eyes but his intrigued me. One second I saw one color, the next they were different. They didn't darken or lighten, they changed their entire color. I wanted to learn more about him, why he was so quiet and mysterious but I never got the chance and I never will. Beacon is a hard to get in school. You're lucky if you even get considered, let alone be accepted.

I placed my feet up on the other seat and brought my knees to my chest and continued to read despite my mind being somewhere else. A habit of mine. Whenever I read, I still am reading the book but half of my mind is somewhere else thinking.

As the train began to move, I leaned back into my seat and watched the buildings and people move out of view and change into blurs.

Soon, my eyelids became heavy until they finally drooped down and I fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Hey Guys! I am Xera's sister who wrote this little chapter. I'm Sky almost like Skyla but not quite. ^_^ Mkay byyeeee!**

***Not gonna lie, I have no idea what to have added to this tiny intermission…**


	5. A Familiar Face

XSRA's Flame Chapter 5: A Familiar Face

**Xera POV**

I've always loved heights. Just the thrill of being up in the air was always so much fun. If I could, I would be up in the air as much as I can, but I can't do that here. Not while I'm standing in the body of a massive airship speeding through the sky.

Yep, its official, I'm on my way to Beacon Academy to become a Huntsman. I was leaning against the wall in the back corner by a window, watching the city of Vale fly by. In my hands was a book that I recently started reading, "Hero's Dynasty", it's definitely a good book. There's plenty of action and adventure, tons of characters and plot. I was really getting into the book and the world around me was just blurred and cluttered with muffled noise.

I can hear the faint sound of the news reporter's voice toward the other side of the air ship. It was a nice background noise for my reading, and there wasn't too much commotion inside the flying vessel as far as I know of, except for this one blonde guy who had trouble holding in his lunch. I felt bad for him, understanding that not all people can handle heights and motion.

Shame I didn't have any motion sickness pills on me.

Suddenly, a hologram image of a young woman appeared and the News Channel was shut off. I turned my gaze from my book and looked over to see everyone paying attention to her. _"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."_

And with that, the hologram shut off and disappeared as fast as it appeared in the first place.

_Glynda, looking as official as ever I suppose. These kids have no idea how strict she can get…_

Everyone's gaze then shifted to the windows and I heard a few slight gasps and "Whoa, check this out". I turned and noticed what everyone was looking at.

Beacon had come into view and the ship was coming in for a landing. The Academy definitely deserves its title as one of the top schools for training Huntsmen and Huntresses. _No matter how many times you look at it, it always impresses. For most people anyway…_

Outside the window stood massive towers and multiple expansions in every direction, connecting their bases. The front of the school sported a massive courtyard, large pillars shot into the air in a wide half-circle around it and connected each other with archways.

In the middle stood a centralized tower with the tallest structure compared to the rest. Training halls and a garage structure were built up on either sides of the courtyard, and gardens filled the grass between those and the main building of the Academy.

This place almost looks like a palace… if it weren't for the training arenas and the school rooms. As I was taking in the sight, I felt the ship start to descend and land not far from the main avenue.

The airship docks.

After the doors opened, all the passengers flooded out to get a better look at the view. I turned to see one last person still on the ship with me. She must have been waiting for the crowd to rush off too before getting off the ship herself.

She had a pale complexion, and she was wearing black, low-heeled boots, black stockings that started at her hips but gradually faded to purple as it neared her shoes, there were black ribbons on both her arms with a black detached sleeve and a silver band on her left arm. Further up she wore a black buttoned vest with coattails, and a white, sleeveless undershirt that exposes part of her midriff with white shorts that may be connected to her shirt, although it is partly obscured by the vest.

She also had a detached scarf-like collar around her neck. To top it off, she had long, wavy black hair with a ribbon tied in the shape of a bow atop her head, and her eyes were mesmerizing in color. They were glistening amber and were complemented by light-purple eye shadow flaring backwards. Her eyes were currently focused on the book she was reading, I couldn't make out the title by the way she was holding it, almost as if she was purposely hiding it.

If that were the case though, she should just make a false cover for it.

She must have sensed me staring because she looked up and met my gaze with those amber eyes. The girl gave a small smirk toward me and I immediately broke eye contact, feeling awkward and turned my head back to my book. _Yeah, my fault. Went all outfit analyst on her… must be my inner writer flaring up. Gotta try to quell that or something… _

After staring at the book for a few seconds, I closed it and swiftly slid it back into my sweatshirt pocket then walked off the airship.

The girl got off behind me and walked toward the nearest bench, taking a seat there to continue reading.

I looked up and took in the view of all the towering sections of Beacon. This is it… this is where I'm going to live for the next 4 years… again. What is that, 9 now? I've already searched every nook and cranny of this place… so no sense in looking around.

I was snapped out of thought when I heard a ridiculously loud explosion. Looking around, I noticed two girls surrounded by white suit cases, and they were engulfed in a cloud of dust.

_The discovery of dust is always explosive… every… single… time… why is that? _One looked younger than the other and was wearing red and black. _Must… restrain… analyzing clothes…_

She looked young, young enough to warrant the question as to how she's here. _Prodigy? Been a while since I've seen one of those… _Silver eyes stared helplessly at the ground as she started getting lectured. She wore a black blouse and a red-laced black cincher around her waist, below that was a red-trimmed black combat skirt.

Beneath those were black leggings faded with dark red, lastly were her similarly colored combat boots.

_Wonder what that folded weapon is at her waist…_

The other girl sported the color white and some pale blue. _She's dressed elegantly… for some reason. Why does that logo look familiar? _She wore a pale blue bolero jacket over a thigh-length dress, similar in color. The inside of it looked to be red, and the dress's sleeves and skirt turned blue the at their ends.

A snowflake emblem was engraved delicately into the back of her outfit.

_She's probably important… maybe…_

Going based off of that, she probably is. She's also one of the few girls I've seen actually wearing jeweler. An apple-shaped necklace hugged her neck and thin rectangular earrings dangled from her ears. Mid-calf white, heeled wedge boots finished her outfit off nicely.

Contrary to the younger girl's red-highlighted shoulder length black hair, she had long snow white hair that dangled down from an asymmetrical ponytail.

_I can only imagine what she's yelling about right now… just survive her onslaught of words little red! You can do it!_

The girl sitting on a nearby bench with the bow also took interest in the situation and looked at them as well. After hearing some yelling coming from the older girl.

_I think it's time to go. _I walked off around the scene and continued into the gates of Beacon, not wanting to get involved in whatever was going on out there. No matter how much I wanted to.

Walking down one of the many corridors of Beacon, I found myself outside the cafeteria. It was bustling with people. Tables were spread out all along the floor with occupants chatting about their lives before coming here. I can tell that everyone here is excited to have been accepted into this Academy.

It must have only been half a second after I stepped through the doorway when a flash a purple was flying straight for my face. Luckily, I ducked in time for the liquid to sail straight over my head and splatter all over the wall behind me. _Was that grape soda?_ I thought, and then something came to mind, _Wait, the exact same thing happened in my last school too._

I was pulled from my thoughts by a girl running up to me to apologies. _She looks… familiar… oh…_ I stood back up and turned toward the incoming teen. Her eyes widened and she skidded to a stop a few feet in front of me.

"Oh, it's you! Xera, hi, it's me." She said with a sheepish grin. I gave her a small smile.

_So, that's where I know her from._

* * *

**Kinda went a little over board when I described Blake, but it doesn't matter. She is my favorite character out of the team RWBY. Anyway, so… Xera's in for an interesting time here at Beacon. I wonder who will become his partner, and what team will he be a part of? I guess you'll just have to find out, here's a hint, "XSRA". Well, hope you guys enjoyed the introductions. Despite already seeing each of these canon characters before… :P**

**Cya XD**


	6. Time to Kill, Coffee to Burn

XSRA's Flame Chapter 6: Time to Kill, Coffee to Burn

**Skyla's POV**

So Xera goes to this school! Sweet!

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked walking outside of the cafeteria towards the court.

"I'm here to learn how to cook." he said sitting down on the bench. I chuckled to myself thinking of how dumb the question must have been.

He then flashed me an amused grin before leaning back, "I'm here to train." Of course he was here to train and become a huntsmen, everyone was.

"I knew that…"

"So, what are _you_ doing here?" He asked, his currently sky blue eyes twinkling, but they switched to pink for just a moment. _Wonder if each color means something…_

I laughed at his appearance considering pink was so not his color.

He tilted his head at me quizzically. "What are you laughing at?"

I laughed even harder in the middle of explaining the laughter. Finally, I was able to speak, "Your… eyes… were PINK!"

"Lies." he said playfully, "Up for a little exploration? Better to know some of the campus before initiation than to get lost."

I nodded excitedly then quickly stood. Racing down the courtyard's paths, I bee lined it toward a local coffee stand with Xera walking painfully slow behind me. _Awesome, Beacon has a few student stands here and there… but I doubt they'll still be here once incoming freshmen are no longer 'incoming'. Must be just something for today._

"Catch up slow poke or I'm ordering without you!" I shouted behind me.

"I don't like running."

"Well I do!" I said running quickly in front of the stand. "One Carmel Frappuccino, please."

The guy smiled before handing me my drink. Thanking him, I handed him the lien and raced back to Xera.

"I got coffee I got coffee I got coffee!" I shouted jumping around him .

"Your-"Before he could finish, a pink headed girl came running through latching onto his chest screaming, "I got coffee I got coffee."

"OMG, so did I!" I shouted jumping around giddily.

"Carmel Frappuccino's!" We shouted at the same time.

"Skyla, calm down!" Xera said, peeling the crazed girl off his chest.

"I'm Nora." She said just as a guy came running towards her in green.

"Nora! Don't run off like that again!" The newcomer said slowing down to a jog.

Nora giggled while leaning to the side. "Sorry Ren…" She said with smile.

I walked over to Ren and studied his features. Green, like Xera.

He kinda reminded me of Xera, calm and similar taste in clothing.

He sent a friendly smile towards me, "I'm Ren. This is my childhood friend, Nora. Please forgive her for her… _forwardness_-"

"I got a coffee!" I shouted happily, completely interrupting him, before skipping towards Xera.

He was trying to calm Nora down, who was busily waving a giant hammer around.

"Ren Ren Ren Ren! Where's my coffee?" Nora asked, letting the end of her hammer rest against the stones of the pathway.

"You drank it all."

"Nooooooooo…"

"You can have mine." I smiled cheerfully, handing her my coffee.

Xera snatched the passing cup and held it away from us, "Please, you don't need to feed her two cups of coffee-"

Nora grabbed his closest arm and yanked, side stepping his form to grab at the cup. The motion would've been easily executed on anyone else.

But somehow, Xera caught his balance and spun away, keeping the coffee close to his center of balance, "Ren, will another cup of coffee do anything… destructive… if she drinks it?" He asked, dodging and side stepping the girl as he waited.

_They seem pretty skilled…_

"It's unlikely. She already has a lot of natural energy." Ren responded.

Xera seemed to shrug before stopping his movements and holding out the cup, "All yours then."

Nora smiled gleefully and downed the drink in one gulp… _She's an experienced coffee drinker!_

The two of us soon shared a nod and we took off, "Race yah!"

"Oh! You're on!"

"Nora, slow down!" Ren shouted at the same time Xera said, "Skyla, stop running around!"

"It's _time_ for ice cream~" I sang, happily dancing around Xera.

"I don't think sugar is a good thing for you right now Skyla…"

"Don't you question me!" I shouted running towards the ice cream bar with Nora by my side.

Xera and Ren began walking towards the ice cream, beginning a conversation on the way.

By the time they reached the ice cream, Nora and I had already eaten 3 cups of vanilla and oreo ice cream.

Xera came into the shop first followed by Ren, "So, you use boomerangs?" Ren asked Xera.

He nodded as he sat down at our table. I didn't bother to listen to the rest of the conversation. I was busily licking away at my cone I decided to get.

"-la? Skyla? Skyla, can you hear me?" Xera asked waving a hand in front of my face. I looked at him with a death glare for interrupting my eating.

"How many cones have you had?" He asked.

"Five!" Nora shouted.

"I had one!" I said taking a bite from the cone. Xera let out a sigh of relief before I quickly added, "But I had three bowls of ice cream before this."

His eyes flashed yellow in shock and surprise. _Oh, I think I get it!_

"Were we that slow of walkers?" he asked Ren as the man in question tried to hold Nora back from getting more ice cream. He shrugged his shoulders before setting Nora down into a seat.

"Can I pleasseeee have one more?" I asked Xera with large puppy dog eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Pleaasssseeeeeeeeeeee"

"Really, you've had four servings by now…"

"Pllllllleaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

"No."

I took in a deep breath before shouting at the top of my lungs, "PLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!?"

He stared at me calmly before answering, "No."

I sighed loudly before turning my gaze to Ren. "Ren…" I batted my eyelashes, "Can you buy me an ice cream?" I asked pouting.

He stared at me for a little bit, contemplating whether or not he should.

"Ren… don't give in." Xera said patiently.

I pouted and batted my eyelashes some more making my eyes water. Finally, he sighed in defeat and got out of his seat to buy me an ice cream.

Xera let out a long breath and handed Ren some lien coins as he left the booth, "You already spend a lot as it is… I assume."

"You can say that." Ren responded with a nod, then flicked the coins up into his palm as he walked off.

"Yes!" I shouted, jumping up and down in victory.

"Oooo are we jumping now?" Nora asked, jumping out of her seat and jumping around the room with me holding her large silver and pink hammer in hand.

Ren came back and immediately placed the ice cream onto the table before rushing over to us. "Nora, put the hammer down."

"Wait!" I called out but it was too late.

"You want the hammer down? Kay kay" She said slamming the hammer down sending a giant shock wave through Beacon no doubt.

The wave threw us all back against the wall, leaving only Nora standing there happily eating my ice cream.

"Something wrong guys?" she asked staring at everyone's frazzled looks.

I slowly shook my head no and remained against the wall along with the chairs she sent flying back as well.

She giggled and continued to lick the ice cream as she sat down on the floor smiling.

* * *

**Yay Avengers reference! So, Initiation is coming up, and it will be in two parts. Part 1 will be up tomorrow. If you didn't catch on yet, Sky wrote this chapter up, she had a little fun messing around with some of the canon characters. I actually wasn't originally planning Xera and Skyla to be so much like Ren and Nora.**

***More events to further acquaint you with each of these characters… hope it was random enough for you! A little over-hyper, but later on the canon characters should fall further into their proper roles from the show. They won't remain OOC, like this Nora sort of was. Let's face it though, she's fun.**

**Cya XP**


	7. Did he say Landing Strategy?

**Hey guys, Xera here. Just as a heads up, this is part 1 of initiation. Get ready, I tried to make the scenes a bit intense, anyway, here's Chapter 7!**

***Haha, just wait until you see what happens in a tournament later on, 'past self'… you have no idea XD. Intensity… intensifies. You're intensity has no value here…**

****Now then, I am back from the future to this chapter that I am looking at today, which was posted so very long ago, to gage what needs editing. Here we go…**

*****Screw it, re-writing the whole initiation arc…**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 7: Did he say Landing Strategy?

**Xera POV**

You'd think that, year after year of students getting volleyed into a grimm infested forest, it'd get old. And yet… I couldn't help but catch Ozpin's grin behind his coffee mug as one by one we were all propelled into the chill air of the early morning.

_I swear, he enjoys watching his students flail around in hilarity… _But the system was fair. It paired students up by fate, and tested their morals in seeing if they'd stick with their unintended partners… or walk away.

A huntsmen can be as honest as they choose to be. It's not like we're required to tell the truth to the public eye. In fact, most huntsmen and huntresses… don't.

If a mission goes south, and a team gets wiped out by an encroaching mass of grimm, what do the higher ups say? What do the known huntsmen say? They say nothing. The mission goes off the books, off the records. It gets buried, and only those in charge catch wind of the fatality behind it.

Inflicting fear isn't part of the job, _quelling_ fear is.

But in this regard… this test also builds character. We choose to lie, because we wish to keep the danger to ourselves… and spare the rest from it.

Of course though… That's all up to speculation. Ozpin doesn't need the scrutinizing eye of his students if he were to actually pick their partners for them, or let them pick their own. With how diverse public opinion is on the faunus… it'd likely end in faunus pairing up verses humans pairing up.

In this sense, it's the most fair way to go.

Still… did he have to use catapulting launch pads?

Yes… yes he did. Totally necessary.

A blast of concussive air pulled me out of my drifting thoughts, its reverberations powerful enough to carry through me despite the rushing winds. To my right, a girl with flowing blonde hair whipped past me, laughing from the thrill as she punched the air behind her…

Sending more concussive bursts to propel her all the further.

_Showing off, are we? Gauntlet mounted shotguns… who knew impact rounds could send someone so far. Then again, Ozpin told me about a young reaper who does something similar…_

A softer, more feathery pop sounded out behind me as one of the initiates squeaked out, "Birdy, NO!"

There were a few stifled laughs and giggles, but someone was definitely making a first impression on them. I couldn't look back though, the trees were quickly rising beneath me to waste the time.

_I guess it's time to do something. Get ahead of the crowd, see where that leads me…_

I disconnected my Anivia's Talons from my back, letting their ebony shines reflect the sun for merely a moment.

They were curved twin swords made of black steel and engraved with lime green detailing on the handle and blade. The boomerangs were shaped like sharp feathered wings, imbued with corrosive dust. Not to mention the forging process to make these was something no one else was capable of…

Hot Aura Fusion… it added so much more potential to these…

Each blade extends a little over a foot straight out of the handle then curves at a shallow angle for another extension similar in length until it stops to a curved but sharpened edge. Box-like barrels made of black panels, much like the blades themselves, spanned across the spines of the weapons and broke at its bend to maintain a straight nature.

_Okay, let's see if this actually works… _I contorted myself in the air, pulling into a quick spin before hurling one of my blades at a forward angle in front of me. Anivia's Talon spun through the thick air with a metallic whine, before beginning to curve inward like that of a true boomerang…

_Well, here goes nothing…_ I hoped for the best and tucked in, flipping forward in place and kicking off the top of my stable blade as it passed beneath my falling form. My downward momentum shouldn't have been very much… seeing as I was still careening forward.

To tack onto that, I didn't weigh much…

The blade budged a small bit beneath my momentary contact, but it had more than enough resistance in the air to allow me to use it as a stepping stone and create some upward momentum. _Yes! That… that worked!_

My blade returned to my hand at the apex of my jump, and I threw my other one just as I caught it to keep up the pattern, and keep the stones appearing.

Before long, I made it fairly deep into the forest before my momentum started to die off. The canopy of the green trees was quickly reaching up to snag at my passing feet, and I only had another moment to catch my blade before disappearing into the leaves below.

_This is going to hurt in the morning… _Flooding my arms with some aura, I gripped my handles as tight as I could and sliced through a couple branches I passed, severing thick limbs from trees to slightly slow my descent. Then jammed my blades into the trunk of a tree in front of me, carving my way down and around that in a downward spiral until rolling upon meeting the ground.

"O-ow…" My bangs shook messily as I rattled my head, my arms going limp at my sides as my muscles burned. "Y-yeah… that hurt."

Getting rid of the weight pulling at my hands, I reconnected my weapons to the panel on my back in an X fashion before moving north.

My ears weren't picking up any sounds of fighting, just dull silence. It was one of the trademarks of the Emerald Forest. It was nicely thick with trees and foliage that the sounds within its borders didn't travel very far. And with how far I managed to get myself… the other initiates are probably pretty far behind.

It's why I didn't waste an extra second when rolling to the side, clearing out of the way as the bushes to my right tore apart to reveal a charging Ursa.

"Alone, are we?" I asked sarcastically.

It didn't respond.

The bear-like grimm scraped its claws against the ground, digging deep into the dirt and roots as it pulled itself around to face me. Two violent red eyes glared at me before it charged again.

With a vicious swipe, it clawed at me just as I leapt into the air, placing my hand carefully on its snout as I flipped over its mass of fur and bone-armor to let it careen its face into the tree behind me.

I visibly grimaced after landing, turning to see a tremor run up the length of the tree and rattle the leaves above, right before the beast stalled for a moment and stumbled.

_Ursa really are idiots… aren't they? Beowolves always seemed to be the more tactical ones. This one even charged in alone- _My thoughts ended faster than I anticipated when leaves and the branches of bushes began to be drawn back or crushed.

Quickly looking around, three- no, five more Ursa moved in around me and entered between the gaps of the surrounding trees.

_An ambush… okay, I take back my comment! You can all go away now! _They didn't. I slid my way back to the recovering Ursa that had already attacked me and ran up its back, planting my shoes firmly against the gripping bark of the tree it smeared its face into before taking a few steps up it.

With the momentary height advantage, I used it to reposition. Leaping off the thick trunk, I threw my body over the heads of the encroaching grimm at the far back of the ambush and sunk my blades into one of the furry beasts in the process.

A sickening sound of searing flesh and tearing muscle mixed into the low growls of my atmosphere currently, and black mist seeped out of the wounds I inflicted due to the flesh there being corroded away.

Anivia's little secret… Corrosive dust was imbued into the metal of my blades.

It helped greatly with bypassing a lot of materials my sharpened metal couldn't already cut, among other things.

The deep gash ran, well, _deep_. And as I landed, the beast I tore through stumbled forward and collapsed onto its upper body… unmoving.

"Oh come on, that wasn't even a vital spot." I complained, then again... I still had five more to deal with.

Ursa relied heavily on strength, in doing so they lacked speed. So, this shouldn't be too difficult… I hope.

I let the first two approach, backed by the other two and the one that still seemed a bit dazed. First things first, see what they do… then counter.

Their glowing red eyes regarded me as heavy paws pressed firmly into the dirt, the two up front splitting for a moment to amble around their fallen comrade.

_Good enough. _I leaned forward for a moment, then fell into a swift dash toward the one on the left. It narrowed its gaze and lowered its snout before pushing itself onto its hind legs… then madly slashed at me with its paws.

I cleanly slipped beneath its swipes and spun through its guard, digging in then dragging the length of my blades through its abdomen and around its back. I then stopped my momentum by kicking up and planting my feet into a tree, leaping back and around its spine to sever that too.

If he's not dead already, he'll bleed out. My feet landed on the dissolving corpse of my first kill before making a leap for the other grimm.

It snarled and made for a wide bite toward my head. I managed to slip the tip of my blade beneath its widening maw and jam my blade upward, piercing and pinning its lower jaw to the top of its mouth and slicing through the top of its skull.

_Why can't you guys eat minty leaves or something?! It'd be a step up from the rotten death lingering in your lungs! _I couldn't even say that aloud, as I tumbled to the side and away from the others to catch a breath of fresh air.

My eyes turned back to the remaining three grimm as I swiped my swords to the side, flinging the loose blood off their surfaces and letting the rest burn away.

"Are you guys seriously lining up for me?" If anyone else were to see it, the answer was no. They were in a skewed line and the last one was slightly off-set. They were also positioned in a rough horizontal line…

I took advantage of it and took a step forward, spinning on the spot and sending both blades forward in twin arcs. The grimm paused for a moment and made to leap or charge out of the way, but timing wasn't exactly their strong suits.

Both swords sliced through their bulk of fur with ease, passing through their bodies and emerging from the end of the line.

"Watch your back!"

A new voice called out from somewhere, but I took it as some _very_ good advice. As soon as I could, I tumbled forward, turned around on my heal, and leapt backward away from a diving and swiping seventh Ursa.

Its claw nearly tore my nose off as my heightened adrenaline watched it slowly loom closer.

Out of the corner of my eye though, the flash of something purple blurred through the air before I managed to land. The grimm's eyes narrowed further as it snorted, letting out an aggrevated breath as it…

Tried to pull at its restraints? _Are those ribbons?_

I didn't have much time to think about it, seeing as my blades returned in the middle of my stupor and tore its heart out.

* * *

**Skyla's POV**

"Yo." I said with a casual pop, pushing a little more aura into my ribbons to make sure the Ursa was dead.

Xera turned his gaze to me after a while, and he gestured toward the ribbons unraveled from the handles of my dual katanas.

"Oh, these?" I asked with a quirky smile, "I can manipulate the light fabric with my aura. Kinda like those people with flutes who control snakes in a basket!"

Xera smiled at my comment, before reaching a subconscious hand out and snatching his blades out of the air on their second pass, "Sounds fair enough. I guess we're partners."

"Yay!" _I totally didn't just hunt you down or anything!_ Pushing a final burst of aura into my ribbons, they constricted tightly around the dead Ursa and crushed it into a fluffy ball, "Wanna play catch?"

He smiled again and swiped his blades at the bushes, throwing a stream of blood into them before I watched him place one blade over each shoulder, "That actually sounds like fun, but you can always use that as a dense flail."

Oooh, that could actually work…

"Wouldn't it dissolve though?"

Xera shrugged his shoulders, "Or you could use a rock."

I tilted my head to that, "…good point."

Taking a moment, I receded my ribbons and wound them back around my handles. But as soon as Xera and I started walking in the same direction I felt my feet give out and nearly throw me to the ground, a heavy tremor running through the roots.

Wind tore through the trees, causing them to groan in annoyance and the bushes around us to grip the ground desperately to avoid being uprooted.

"W-what was-"

A second, smaller wave of force past over us from beyond the tree line.

"Someone's fighting something big." Xera commented, and I looked over to him to see he was standing casually in a thinking pose.

_He has some insane balance if he didn't even stumble… _"Well, let's go check it out!"

* * *

**Third Person**

In an opening in the trees, a tall teen slammed his foot into the ground as he swung upward under a swiping pincer… bashing it skyward and cracking it with the bladed side of his battle axe.

He then delivered a hefty punch to its bundle of eyes and spun his double-bladed weapon around, quickly bringing the heavy silver ax and glancing the plunging deathstalker's stinger off the flat side of his large weapon.

"Come on you overgrown scorpion, hit me!" The teen growled, dirt flying up past his face as the golden tail embedded itself in the ground behind him.

Red eyes gleamed at him in anger before it screeches and yanked backward, trying to slam its tail into the teen on its way back.

It was avoided with a side-step.

The massive scorpion then reared back and lowered its tail behind itself, then scurried in an unnatural quickness to whip the appendage around. The armored shell of its tail collided with the shaft of the teen's weapon and sent him skidding back on his boots, kicking up dirt and rocks before he ground to a stop.

"I dare you to do that again." He taunted again, and predictably the deathstalker did just that. It succeeded on the first hit, so why not do it again? It was sure to work.

The tail again came tearing through the air as the scorpion threw itself around, only for the teen to plant his feet into the ground and wind up his ax…

Then swung it with enough force to not only crack the outer shell of the appendage with its sharp edge, but sever it completely. The glistening golden stinger was sent burrowing through the bushes, embedding itself into a distant tree and leaving the deathstalker without a tip to its tail.

A smirk grew across the fighter's lips as he glanced back. His eyes passed over a girl leaning against a tree on the opening's tree line.

She was currently clutching her side, a red aura glowing faintly around her to repair what was damaged.

It only egged him on more to crush that stupid deathstalker.

He turned his gaze back in time to lift his forearm, stopping the scorpion's pincer in its tracks as a burst of wind blew past him from the impact, "You know… you really shouldn't piss me off…"

The young man's eyes pooled with red energy, causing them to almost smolder as he leaned his head forward in an intimidating growl.

He flung his ax's blade forward a bit then kicked the shaft's end, forcing its blade into the face of his adversary and causing it to stumble backward in a high wine of pain.

A bright glow suddenly started emanating from his ax as he brought it around to his front again, then leaned slightly forward in his stance. He then hefted his weapon up with ease and aimed the tip of his weapon solidly at the convulsing and fuming scorpion.

His ax split at the tip of its blade, folding back and retracting into what looked like a large crossbow. Immediately after, a high pitched noise was sounded through the air as the weapon charged up and began churning through a large supply of internal dust.

The pitch escalated in decibels, nearing the pain tolerance for humans, before suddenly reaching a crescendo when the tip of his mini-ballista flashed with a powerful and blinding light.

The girl leaning against the tree had to quickly turn her eyes away as the surrounding trees became engulfed in a flash of blue light. A sudden thunderous explosion pierced the air as a massive bolt of lightning ripped through it like shattering plasma, tearing into and eviscerating the deathstalker in its place.

Or rather, all that was left now was a smoldering and scorched outer shell.

The teen's seemingly blood-filled eyes returned to normal, and he lowered his crossbow's tip to the ground. Its arms then folded forward and the drawstring snapped back into place to reform his battle axe.

"You okay over there?"

The young girl slightly flinched from being addressed, but she turned her gaze back to the now approaching teen and gave a slight nod.

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine." She responded. Her side was mostly healed now, so she pushed herself to her feet and leaned against the tree for a moment, "T-thanks."

"No problem. You should really keep your distance if you can't fight up close."

"I can fight up close, it's just… it was fast enough to close the distance before I could kill it."

The teen smirked and jammed the blade of his ax into the ground, then crossed his arms, "Fair enough. The name's Rex. Rex Tyro."

"Allix Stowe." The girl responded with a nod.

"Hey! That was totally awesome!"

The two teens turned to see a girl running toward them wearing a purple battle skirt, and a guy in a green sweatshirt following behind her, but he wasn't making an effort to run.

* * *

**Yea, two more OC's for ya, I've been waiting for the right time to introduce them. Currently hinting at some of the weapons, but not revealing too much, that's for later. Anyway, I haven't mentioned this before, I have no reason why, but **_**Follow**_** and **_**Favorite**_** the story, there's plenty more to come. Besides, you haven't even met the evil guy yet. So keep a look out for Part 2 and for now…**

*****There we go, sets up nicely now. I felt this initiation was greatly lacking in any fights or any amount of danger/intensity… so I added some this time around. All new readers won't know what this originally looked like… so yay, it won't be as cringe worthy anymore. I hope the updated style doesn't clash with the surrounding chapters though… that would be bad. I'll make sure to change those, too. Eventually…**

**Cya**


	8. What Happened to You Guys?

**Alright, part 2 is here! How 'bout a little introduction and some more info about the new guys. Anyway, enjoy!**

*****Re-writing the second half to this one…**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 8: What Happened to You Guys?

**Xera POV**

I followed Skyla out of the brush and trees, and walked into the clearing where we spotted two more initiates. The one guy must have just finished a fight with that pile of smoldering gunk over there, he was looking somewhat worn out and exhausted, but he was making an effort not to show it.

The guy was holding a massive, and I mean massive silver double-bladed battle axe with gold detailing, and what looks to be lightning dust engraved into the double edged blades. He stood a little over 6 feet tall, looked to be about 18, and wore a silver trench coat with gold trim, a dark blue t-shirt, black jeans, and silver boots, also with gold details and highlights. The guy also had short, silver hair with a few golden streaks, spiked straight up with gel, and dark blue eyes.

Next to the tall man stood a shorter, dark red haired girl, who looked to be about 5 and a half feet tall. Her hair was placed in a braid that falls down her left shoulder. The young girl looked to be about 16 and owned dark silver eyes, she was also wearing red headphones around her neck. The red haired girl wore black and red leggings, a dark red battle skirt with red fringes, black long sleeve shirt under a black leather jacket, and black combat boots, sporting crimson red dust designs on them. On her back was her weapon, it was black with red engravings all along the body and seemed to lead to a central focus point. _It looks like a b-_

"Woah, is that a bow!?"

I looked toward the owner of the voice and sighed, "Real subtle Skyla, and yes I believe that is a Dust Longbow on her back." I said while approaching the two people. "Hi, sorry about the sudden introduction, but we came to see if someone needed help. It seems we weren't needed at all actually."

"Yeah, we were talking and then suddenly, we heard an explosion." Skyla cut in.

The tall guy looked us over, "Sorry about that, I accidently found a death stalker in some sort of cave over there." He said while sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "My name's Rex, if you're wondering."

"And my name is Allix." The red haired girl said. "And this here is my bow, Kryptonite's Arrow."

"Ooooooooo, that is so cool! Can you shoot Superman with that thing?!"

"Skyla, please calm down." I turned toward Allix with an apologetic smile. "Sorry again, by the way, my name is Xera."

"And I'm Skyla!"

Allix looked over the anxious girl, "So I've heard, and to answer your question, who's Superman?"

Skyla looked up in deep thought, humming some sort of tune I didn't recognize, soon looking back at all of us with a confused expression, "I'm not sure, the name kinda just jumped out of my mouth for some reason. But whoever he is, he sound really cool!"

Rex cleared his throat, drawing in all our attention before he spoke, "I believe we still have a mission, do we not?"

"Yes, let's start heading toward the ruins, they shouldn't be too far from here." I said, pointing toward a stone pillar peeking through some of the trees.

"Can we tag along with you guys?" Skyla asked with a pleading smile.

Allix stifled a giggle and answered, "Of course, I don't see why not." She turned to Rex and received a slight nod of confirmation.

We headed in the direction of the stone pillar. As we walked, some casual conversation broke out along the way. Which was a nice reprieve from the grimm we all ran into.

We eventually reached another clearing, and upon stepping out of it I spotted a stone circle in the middle of the ruins. Around the circle stood multiple pedestals, all of them stood about three feet off the ground. A relic was placed at the top of each one. _Well, isn't this a classic. These probably determine what team everyone will be put on. Which means…_

"What are they?" I turned to see Skyla poking one of the gold relics with a confused look on her face.

"They're the relics Ozpin told us to retrieve for initiation." Rex informed the curious teen.

"Yes, and they look to be chess pieces as well. Go ahead and pick one Skyla." I waved Skyla the 'go ahead' motion and watched her browse through the selection of pieces. She came across the black rook piece and stopped. Her eyes widened and she grabbed the piece in a blink of an eye.

"Yay! I'm queen of the castle! My ruthless rule upon those who bow before me will not be stopped! For I is fluffy overlord! Queen of the kittens!" She declared out in a playful tone.

I looked over and saw Allix pick up the other black rook piece, examining it before handing it to Rex for safe keeping.

"We must have been the first ones to get here, it doesn't look like there are any pieces missing other than the ones we grabbed." I mentioned while noticing the abundance of relics standing before us.

"Cool, let's be the first ones back as well." Rex said before he started heading back to Beacon's Cliffs with Allix following behind him.

Skyla jumped cheerfully and followed Rex's lead. "Yes, we're gonna win the race! Come on, let's go before the slow pokes get here!"

"Skyla, I don't think this is a race." I said while starting to follow my teammate. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a shadow lurking in the bushes to my right. I turned toward it, but only trees and foliage remained… nothing akin to a shadow at all…

_Another initiate or not… that was super creepy…_

"Hurry up Xera, stop being such a slow poke!" Skyla yelled, waving for me to come toward her and the others.

"Okay, fine. But I'm not running!" I yelled back toward my partner.

Our trip back to Beacon was running smoothly, up until the point where Skyla wanted to explore some more ruins just off to the right of our path. "Come on, we're already ahead of the crowd so why not explore a bit? It'll be fun!" Skyla reasoned with the group.

"I guess it'd be a bit advantageous to know the area around Beacon." Allix added in.

Rex and I just shrugged and followed Skyla toward the ruins alongside the red archer, though… my instincts never seemed to simmer down.

No ruins were ever left uninhabited. It was a general rule of nature. It's like a literal fortress for those that find it, which means some sort of grimm were likely to be lingering around these ruined stones and structures…

"Whooooa…" Skyla awed, though I wondered if she was intentionally making herself seem excited. Her dancing eyes were what backed her outward emotions. That, and she was hopping up onto and along the broken walls of what remained of pillars, shattered platforms of stone, and crumbled structures of sorts.

"You notice them too, right?" Allix asked, she and I walked at the back of the group and watched Rex and Skyla explore the pillars and what remained of an outer tower.

"Yeah…" I replied. My eyes picked them up as soon as we walked into these ruins. Along some of the pillars were scratch marks, etched into the weather-worn bricks and rocky paths. The ground seemed to also have been well trampled in subtle paths, but they were too thin to be noticed by those that weren't looking for them.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

I carefully climbed my way up the broken stairs of the watchtower, pulling and stepping my way up to reach the partially intact roof of the structure.

"Come on Rex! It's not that hard." I called beneath me, looking around from atop one of the tower's walls.

"You're not the one with a heavy ax on his back."

"Oh, quit your wining."

I heard some more grumbling from below, and looked down to see Rex slide back down to the ground and cross his arms.

_Not much of a climber I guess._ My purple eyes caught Rex's upward glare, and I could only playfully smile at his form so far below. And so, what better way to convince him to climb up here than to stick my tongue out at him, "Can't climb, I see! Oh well… guess the view up here's all mine!"

I glanced down to see Rex turn his head away, grumbling something else that I couldn't quite hear. Then he took his ax off his back and jammed its silvery end into the ground… then cracked his knuckles, "Alright princess, I'll be proving you wrong."

He took a leap up to the nearest crevice and caught ahold of it with his hand, and the next few leaps and bounds up the broken and crumbling steps were done with some amount of ease as I watched him scale his way up.

"Awe look, he can climb…" I said in a light voice, sitting myself down and kicking my feet against the stones beneath me.

After a few seconds, he reached the top and stood up on the wall next to me, a satisfied grin on his face as he looked down at me, "I told you… it was the ax."

"Maybe, but you still took a few tries." I leaned back slightly and kicked my shoes out in front of me, balancing out on the wall as I looked up at him playfully, "Do you wear that trench coat just to look cool whenever it's windy?"

My question was met with a small chuckle, and seemingly to make some sort of point a breeze blew through the top of the tower and fluttered the tails of his coat, "Of course, why else would I wear it?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Because it could be… cold?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "Nah. But it is a preference of mine. Besides, they can be pretty tough to cut through at times."

I nodded my head and hopped to my feet, holding my arms out at my sides as I traversed to the other end of the wall.

"Hey, Sky… what are those?"

"Hmm?" I hummed, turning around to see Rex peering over the side of the structure, "What are what?"

Making my way over, I turned my gaze to see where he was pointing.

"…oh." The word left my lips without my intentions, but that didn't matter. Xera was sitting up on one of the broken walls, and Allix was leaning on a pillar opposite him. They were talking… but behind the wall and around them moved figures in shimmering black fur, "Those…"

"Now I wish I brought my ax up here…" Rex sighed.

"Here, hold on…" I pulled out my own weapons and unraveled their ribbons. With a few deft maneuvers, I managed to tie one end around the base of a large stone protruding from the towers and tugged on it a few times to secure it, "Take this end please."

Handing one end over, Rex took ahold of it and I used my aura to wrap the fabric tightly around his wrist and arm, "You ready?"

* * *

**Xera POV**

They're quiet… very quiet… but I could still barely hear the rustle of the tall grass beneath their paws. So far, I couldn't get a read on how many… but there were plenty enough to supply for an ambush on us.

A small movement in the grass at Allix's back caught my eye, and for a moment… I saw a glimpse of black.

My eyes then locked with a pair of tense dark silver eyes… and the archer and I shared a silent nod.

I dropped off the wall just as Allix dashed toward me. As soon as we moved, the grass around us fanned apart and split in multiple areas as the bodies of pitch black wolves leapt out of them.

Before they closed in, I laced my fingers together just as Allix reached me, and as soon as she stepped onto my hands I leaned back and threw her upward.

She kicked off and used her hands to pull herself onto the top of the pillar behind me, and as soon as she was out of my grip I drew my swords and entered a guarded stance.

Nine grimm wolves growled and snarled in front of me, pushing forward and encompassing me in a semicircle of dark glistening fur. Their eyes boiled red, but they carried a fierce predatory glare behind them as a couple snapped at the air with their dark maws. Pale white segmented bone armor, scattered enough so as to keep mobility at its peak and maintain a light armored figure, ran from their foreheads and down their backs.

"Lykaons…" They were fast, they traveled in packs, and above all… They were actually coordinated when hunting.

My ears picked up some more grass being moved behind the nearby walls, which meant there were more coming.

They were stalling for a greater advantage…

"Alright then, shall we?" I asked, though it was more of a signal. Reversing the grip of one of my boomerangs, I tossed it into the air in a gentle spin before dashing forward with the other.

Two of the wolves moved in on me, keeping low to the ground as three more circled around their sides in an instant.

I heard the keen sound of my blade in the air as I crossed my singular sword in front of my and kept light on my feet, dodging for now as the two beneath swiped and bit toward my body, while the ones at their sides leapt up at my upper body.

It was an attacked designed to be unavoidable.

Luckily, I had backup.

As my blade fell, the snap of an arrow sounded out and I dodged backward, watching out of the corner of my eye as Allix's arrow split down the middle, driving itself through the edge of my thrown blade.

The two halves plunged into the eyes of two of the lykaons, both of which were the ones taking leaps.

I quickly pulled the blade in my hand through the air, and dragged its end through the other two, forcing them back, leaving one with a deep gash in its side.

"And now, we have a bit of fun." I muttered as I spun to my side and shot my hand out, catching my first blade out of the air and throwing my other one.

It slammed into one of the backline wolves and burrowed through it, cleanly slicing it with a pained whine and a thump.

I heard another snap of an arrow, and one of the six in front of me received yet another crimson arrow through the top of their head.

_She's a good shot… _Two of the rest backed off and moved around, climbing deftly onto the wall leading up to Allix's pillar as the last three snapped viciously and moved around, keeping me from moving to intercept the two that broke off.

"Hold your own up there, don't worry about me." I said as I started backing up, being led away from Allix's pillar. The blade I threw earlier came back with a glint in the light, and I caught it with ease without breaking my readied guard.

Above me, I heard more and more arrows being loosed.

_I guess she's also been taking out the lykaons beyond the walls. _I was getting pushed further and further back as the black wolves bit at the air and snapped at me, growling in low stances. More rustling sounds emanated from behind me now…

Another ambush.

Great.

I steeled my nerves and got ready, as soon as we were crossing through some sort of intersection in the stones… I tensed my muscles and prepared to try to take these three out before the ones behind me had a chance to move in.

I never got the chance.

"WRECKING BALL TYRO!"

Something large, silver, and very loud swung down in front of me and burrowed through the three lykaons. None of them stood a chance, and I watched as Rex's fist buried itself deep into the first wolf's side as his shoulder slammed forcefully into all three, careening them into a nearby wall… him included.

With a quick glance up, I saw purple ribbons pull back and dance through the air, swirling through the sun and sky as I traced them back to the source.

"Skyla…" I spoke my thoughts as she waved down happily at me, then surged her ribbons down to the base of the tower from the center of the floor above.

Before I knew it, a second silvery object was sent flying from high above, clanging heavily with the ground in front of me as six inches of steel sparked and smashed into the ground. The large object shined in the sun and proved only one thing… don't… don't ever let that thing fall on you…

Rex suddenly through himself out of the rocks and ran over, snatching his embedded ax from the ground and charging into the deep brush of the tall grass at the other side of the path.

"Okay…" I quietly commented, turning around silently to see a couple more lykaons slipping out of the grass at my flank, "I'll just… kill you now? I guess?"

Rex, that was a cool move… and it was definitely a dangerous combination… two reckless teens atop a tower… who knew?

Letting out a slow breath, I could only let a small smirk grace my lips, "Can't let him get all the kills now can I." So with a twirl

I pushed a little aura into each blade, hearing as they shifted and transformed in my hands. The swords retracted into two model 1887 inspired shotguns. Their barrels were more streamlined and built with hard angled panels that usually resided on the spines of my swords, which were now double layered.

The simple flourish caused some of the wolves to take a momentary step back, and I could only widen my smirk as I flipped the guns in my hands. The lever-action systems connected directly to my bladed guards opened up mid-air and primed a golden slug into each chamber, slamming them shut up twirling back up and into my grip.

Seeing that as their only opportunity, four wolves pounced forward to catch me before I started shooting. I didn't even blink.

I leaned forward then jumped, slamming the barrel of one of my shotguns between one of the lykaon's ears and used it as leverage to push me into an overhead flip. I used enough strength to gain enough momentum to land me in the center of the small group of grimm…

Then pulled the trigger.

* * *

"What happened to you guys?" I heard someone ask as Rex collapsed into the soft grass atop Beacon's cliff, where we started. Skyla plopped herself down next to her and soon Allix joined them as well.

I just shrugged my shoulders, "Lykaon ambush."

Turning my gaze, I saw who was talking to me. She was the young one, in red, that I saw on our first day.

"Ah, yeah… those things are pretty tough." She said, and soon I noticed her own team was sprawled out on the grass behind her.

"And you?" It was only fair to return the question.

Her silver eyes adverted as she laughed awkwardly, "Nevermore."

"Seriously?" Rex's head popped up for a moment, though he still remained on his back.

"Oh, yeah!" Someone else spoke up, she also seemed to be lying on her back. Her blonde hair splayed out beneath her as she lifted a hand to point toward the girl I was talking to, "Huge. Little sis here tore its head off."

"Yang, don't go around telling people that!"

"But it's true!"

"We worked together! So we all had a part in it!"

A third girl, who seemed to be the only other person standing, joined in, "I suppose we should all get credit for that kill."

"Weiss, don't be a buzzkill. At least give my little sister some credit." Yang sat up and crossed her arms beneath her chest, eyeing the white haired girl who joined in.

"She _did_ do most of the work." The forth, with the bow and black hair I saw on the bullhead yesterday, spoke up as well.

"Wait! Wait wait wait!" Skyla suddenly jumped up, pointing a dramatic finger to the girl in red, causing said girl to flinch, "What's your name?!"

"U-uh…" The girl gripped at her skirt as she shrunk a bit into her red cloak, "Ruby Rose?"

Skyla nodded with satisfaction as she smiled innocently, "Okey doke, that's all." And then she proceeded to plop herself back down and start plucking grass.

Ruby blinked for a moment, silence had somehow befallen the group of four girls in front of me. Though, that silence was broken by a few giggles coming from some of them.

_Thanks for breaking the ice, Sky. _"Yeah, that's my partner. Skyla." I spoke up.

Skyla gave a small wave upon hearing her name, but after that Ruby drew her attention back to me, "And you are?"

"Xera. Those two are Rex and Allix." I gestured to the only other two people I knew, respectively. Rex popped a quick thumbs up into the air as Allix gave a polite nod.

She seemed to hum in acknowledgement, giving everyone a small wave before looking back to her own friends, "Well, you know my name. That's my sister, Yang. And those two are Blake and Weiss."

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and nodded to them, getting a smile, a curtsy, and a flashy peace sign in return.

We all suddenly turned our heads to see a group of four more, beaten and battered, teens climb up over the ridge of the cliff. Each of them rolling onto their backs and breathing heavily.

Though, the red haired one was the first to get up.

"Sheesh, you guys look like you ran into something big." I commented, catching a glance from the girl standing and the lift of a blonde haired guy's head sprawled out on the ground.

He lifted a finger into the air as he greedily sucked in oxygen, "Deathstalker… very… very big… deathstalker…"

"Ah…" I nodded as he slumped back down to the ground.

* * *

**So yeah, I loved the animation of the Model 1887's from MW2, and I decided to have a little fun with another function to Xera's boomerangs. They don't directly look like them, they just prime and reload like them. Oh, and if you're wondering about Allix's bow, it will be further explained soon, and as for Skyla's weapons… they look like normal katanas with ribbons attached to the pommels that ordinarily wrap around the handles, but you should know that nothing is ever as simple as it looks now is it? Well, I hope you guys enjoyed part 2 of initiation. I tried to make a fight scene, or what is 'supposed' to be a fight scene, let me know what I can improve on in the future.**

**Anyway, **_**Favorite**_** and **_**Follow**_**, leave a **_**REVIEW **_**and as usual…**

***Future me here… you have a lot to improve on 'past self'**

*****Improve on indeed. Now, this kind of looks like a fight scene… I hope. Previously, my team fought off a Nevermore. But I figured this would be a little more original and not something repeated from the show. So, yeah. Oh, and I also added some nice interactions at the end.**

**Cya XD**


	9. Team XSRA!

**Hey, Xera here. Just wanted to give a little shout out to Redret, my first reviewer! Yea, celebration, anyway it actually means a lot to know someone took the time to review and even pitch an idea, a certain 'ship' to be exact. So, here's chapter 9, written by the one and only Sky!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 9: Team XSRA! (Pronounced Sahara)

**Skyla's POV**

I quickly ran over to the four beds in excitement and leaped into the one in the corner and felt myself bounce as I landed. I giggled loudly.

"I can't believe we're a team!" I squealed loudly hugging one of the pillows.

"Skyla calm down. It's just a room" Xera said taking a seat on the bed on the far end.

"It's not just the room!" I gasped. "We're a team! An actual team!" I announced as Allix and Rex walked in.

"That's right. Us, Allix, Xera, Skyla and me. One big happy family!" Rex said in a booming voice.

"So we have a few more days until classes begin. What do you want to do?" Xera asked.

"Ummm….."Allix began before Rex interrupted her. "Magic!" he wiggled his fingers around with a goofy grin on his face.

I burst into laughter at the sight.

Xera smiled as he pulled out a deck of cards from his bag, "I have a few magic tricks up my sleeve"

Xera soon began to shuffle the cards while standing in the middle of the room. He did some fancy card flips and what not. Finally, he walked over to Rex and held out all the cards. "Pick a card"

"WAIT!" I shouted before Rex could even lift his arm. They all looked at me expectantly.

"I wanna!" I said running over to Xera and grabbed all the cards.

"Skyla wha-" I shushed him and sat down in front of Allix and began to pass some cards out in a cirle making two piles. I put the rest of the cards down and faced Allix with a stern look. "Got any threes?"

Allix shook her head with a smile before taking a look at her cards. "Go Fish"

Xera and Rex walked away and went on to do their own thing. Rex picked up a guitar and began playing a soft melody while Xera was busy writing in a journal on his bed.

"Got any fives?" Allix asked.

"Nope. Go fish"

"Got any sevens?"

"No" she said quickly.

Everyone was enjoying the nice music made from Rex the one person who keeps surprising us with his skills.

It was nice and peaceful…Well was.

"XERRAAAAA!" I shouted standing.

"ALLIX CHEATED! SHE CHEATED! SHE HAS A SEVEN!" I shouted throwing my cards down.

Allix shrugged and started to stack all the cards into one pile.

"SHE CHEATED SHE CHEATED! I DEMAND A REMATCH!" I shouted again stomping my foot like a five year old.

Xera briefly glanced my way. "Allix, did you cheat?"

"She didn't ask what kind of seven she wanted"

"See Skyla, no harm done. Just a misunderstanding" He said going back to writing in his tiny journel.

I stuck my tongue at him and jumped onto my bed and face planted into the soft pillows. "I'm bored" my voice was muffled by the pillow.

Rex stopped playing the guitar. "Then do something"

I sat up quickly. "Can we get ice cream?"

"Ah no. I think you had enough ice cream for one day"

"Sooo…." I drew out, "Tomorrow then?"

Allix rolled her eyes and walked towards Rex holding a delicious looking pie that made my mouth water.

"Forget ice cream! I want that pie!" I thought.

"Hey Rex I made you this pie!" Allix said holding it out to the large man.

He sniffed it and grinned. "Mmm smells delicious! What kind?" he asked ready to grab the pie.

"Walnut and strawberry"

Rex suddenly froze and had a scrunched up face like he was deep in thought. Honestly, he looked constipated.

In a blink of an eye, he had grabbed the pie and threw it out the window screaming, "I HATE WALNUTS!" I rushed over to the window just in time to see the pie hit the side of the face of a blond boy and a Spartan looking red headed girl training down below.

"Is that…pie?" the red headed Spartan asked looking at the shocked blond.

"Oops" Rex said looking at the two.

I burst into laughter at the sight and fell to the ground clutching my stomach. Tears were streaming down my face and my sides hurt from all the laughing. I wiped the tear from my eye and look back out the window. "Man was that good!"

"I really wanted to eat that pie" Xera said pocketing the journal to look at the damage we had caused.

"Too slow!" I said sprinting towards the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I was half way out the door when I replied, "IM RETRIEVING THE PIE!"

"WHAT?!" They all said as they watched me tumble down the stairs and straight towards the blond still frozen with half his face covered in white and brown frosting.

I stopped in front of him with a wide grin. "hi"

Xera and Rex were faster and quickly grabbed me before I could ask for the pie back. They dragged me back to the dorm before setting me down on the bed and they all circled around me giving me a stern look.

Awwkkwwaaarrddd.

"DO YOU WANNA GO GET SOME ICE CREAM!?" Rex sang at the top of his lungs off key making the walls shake. I covered my ears along with Xera and Allix.

"YES I WANT TO GET SOME ICE CREAM!" I sang as well standing on the top of my bed.

"OKKKK GOOOOO!" He sang as he fell to the floor in an overly dramatic death.

"I wiiinnnn!" I said in a high pitched voice.

"You guys are so immature" Xera said shaking his head.

"I know right" Allix said crossing her arms. I chuckled and titled my head at her with a goofy grin plastered on my face.

These people are strange beings but I'm lucky to have them as a team. They're easy to talk to and are fun to be around. This is going to be a fun year. I hope we never fade apart over the years….

My thoughts were interrupted when Rex suddenly sang out, "Lunnccchh tiimmeee losers!"

We all ran out of the room and towards the lunch room where we sat at our table. I pulled out my fruit salad and began eating. Xera was eating an apple, Rex was eating a ton of meat and Allix was eating fudging salad!

"How can you enjoy salad?!"

I asked, grimacing as the site of the 'so called' food sitting in front of Allix.

"Oh come on Skyla, it's not as bad as you think." Allix said while offering me a fork full of green garbage. "EW EW EW EW EW EW!" I reared back, almost falling off of my seat as I regained my balance.

Xera and Rex just continued eating their lunch, trying to ignore our little dispute over tasteless leaves.

"I kind of like salad, its healthy, its light, and you don't have to prepare much if you want to eat some." Allix defended as she took another bite. _"How can she eat that? The stuff is literally leaves…green…chewy…leaves, and are those tomatoes?!"_

"I agree with Allix on this one, sorry Skyla." Xera chimed in, now interested on taking a side in this war. "I'm taking Skyls's side on this one Xera, meat is clearly more superior than salad can ever be." Rex said between bites of his rather large pile of chicken wings.

"Ha! At least Rex understands where I'm coming from." I beamed a smile toward my silver haired teammate.

"Glad I can be of help, but it's still a tie. Its 2v2 right now and I don't see a tie breaker." He informed, giving me a small smile as he did so.

"He's right, were right back where we started." Allix said after she finished her 'meal'.

"You know what this means guys!" I stated, a wide grin plastered across my lips. Rex looked at me quizzically and Allix gave me a confused stare, I turned toward Xera and he mouthed the words, '_Please don't say it'._ I simply smiled even wider and turned back to the confused partners.

"Oh no, she's gonna say it." Xera murmured, looking back down at his food with a fearful expression.

"THIS…MEANS…WAR!" I cheered as I stood triumphantly on the table, an apple in hand at the ready for any signs of enemy retaliation.

Xera sat still as stone staring directly at me with a blank face and so Did Rex, frozen in the eating position. "She took my apple…I was gonna eat that." Xera spoke with disappointment in his voice.

Allix started chewing on her 'meal' making me spin her way.

"ENEMY SIGHTED!" I shouted throwing the apple at the salad making Allix recoil back.

"Ouch! Skyla!" Allix cried out nursing her hand. "This is my arrow hand"

I grabbed the plate full of tasteless green leaves and bundled it up into a bowl and tossed it towards the trashcan successfully making it in. "Enemy defeated" I grabbed one of Rex's chicken wings and handed it to Allix. She didn't look too pleased considering she took the chicken wing and threw it at my face. I frowned as it slid off my cheek.

"Oh it is on!"

* * *

**Hai people! It's Sky…again. So yeah you learned one more thing about Skyla and that is that she hates salad. So…I was told to put an author's note after my chapter and I have no idea what to put now so ummm that's it? K Byyyeeee!**


	10. Big Bird Show Down

XSRA's Flame Chapter 10: Big Bird Show Down

**Skyla POV**

_Uh oh…_

Allix stood there glaring at me about throwing her food away. "To my defense, Allix, salad is not a food." I said shrugging my shoulders while staring at the mess we left.

She remained quiet but her glare never left its intensity which sorta scared me at the moment considering this is me she's glaring at.

"Hehe." I said.

"Salad is a food." she muttered.

_Oh heck naw!_

I glared at her and she replied with another glare. We stood there glaring at one another for a while with Xera and Rex sitting back and watching.

"Stop, please stop!" A pleading voice broke the glare battle between Allix and me.

I looked over to see Cardin, leader of team CRDL and biggest jerk of all time. "It's only been a few days since the semester started, and I already hate that guy." Rex muttered after noticing him as well.

"Velvet doesn't deserve to be treated like that, there's nothing wrong with faunus." Allix stated, almost sounding depressed.

"Yeah, I think her bunny ears are actually really cute! Besides, she can take care of herself when she wants to, she _did_ make it into beacon after all." I cut in, hopefully lightening the mood a bit.

Rex went back to eating his chicken, although he still looked a little frustrated, and Allix pulled out a book to hopefully distract herself from the noise of laughing and taunts. _Xera hasn't stopped staring at Cardin since he first heard the them._

"Xera." I spoke, trying to get his attention. He continued glaring, not hearing his name.

"Xera!" I spoke up, still no response.

"XERRRRA!"

He flinched at the sudden outburst and turned toward me. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

_His eyes are red, really bright red, I wonder why they keep changing colors?_ I thought to myself, and then refocused on Xera.

"Are you okay, you were glaring at big bird over there like you were trying to burn him with your eyes?"

Xera couldn't help but give a small smile at my new nickname for Cardin, but it immediately vanished when he spoke up again.

"I'll be fine, I just can't stand people who think its okay to bully the faunus. Especially if their reasoning isn't sound."

Xera clenched his fists as another "Please stop" sounded through the room. He turned back toward bird boy and his goons surrounding Velvet.

"If no one does anything about that in the next five seconds, I will go over there and shove an apple down his throat."

"Xera, it's not worth it, don't even bother with that guy." Allix spoke up now looking over the top of her book at Xera.

"Yeah, there's no point in violence in a situation like this, it will only lead to more violence." I said, trying to stop Xera from doing anything reckless.

_Rex still looks as frustrated as Xera, I doubt he's going to try and stop him at all._ I thought after noting Rex's silence.

"Please let go of my ears, it hurts."

_Oh no, that probably just set Xera off._ I looked back toward Xera and he just sighed, as if resigning himself to this fate.

"This is a combat school Skyla…" He said as he stood up, "Violence _is_ the solution here. This place endorses it after all…"

_That's not how it works!_

He walked away and slowly approached the group. Stopping just a few feet shy of their lunch table.

"For a Winchester, this is pretty low." He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he drew the attention of the four boys, "Let her go."

The larger teen smirked and tightened his grip on the furry ear, "What are you going to do about it scrub? Defending something like this isn't worth your time." Cardin declared, still not letting go of Velvet's rabbit ear.

"Try not to piss too many people off here, Cardin. You'll be waging war against forces your small mind can't even comprehend. Especially if her team catches wind of this." _Did he know Velvet?_

"Why are you defending this 'thing'? It's an animal, she probably snuck her way into beacon anyway." Cardin retaliated, still not letting go.

Xera's eyes flashed a brighter red and clenched his fists even tighter, if that's even possible. "Velvet, do me a favor… try not to move."

In the span of 4 seconds, all of team CRDL was on the ground, clenching different parts of their body. Dove was holding his leg which was oddly bent, and Russel gripped his throat and dry heaving, probably from a quick jab to the wind pipe. Sky was on his knees buckled over and clutching his stomach from a blunt kick, and lastly, Cardin was on his back holding his face, blood pouring from a broken nose.

They were all groaning in pain, but something was off, something didn't seem right. _Xera didn't even move he's still standing in front of Velvet, not even lifting a finger or even glancing at any of the downed bullies!_

_That was freaking awesome! Like it was almost as if someone attacked them and were invisible while Xera stood there! Or Xera has super-duper speed that he moves so fast that we couldn't see it! Or…or…he beat them up with his mind!_

Xera turned his head toward Velvet, "Why don't you ever fight back?"

Velvet sat still and rubbed her ears, eyes glancing up at Xera before subtly rolling, "It doesn't solve anything, so I try not to."

Xera then relaxed a little, "Even if it hurts you? You're more than capable."

"And yet you still come in and help me. You're still the same as you were when you were younger, Xera." Velvet responded with a smile, her voice smoother than the finest of silks due to her accent.

"I step in because you refuse to do it yourself." He sighed, finally turning away.

Xera looked back at our table, causing Velvet to do the same. I gave her a wave and smiled. Allix waved too, and Rex gave her a nod with a kind smile.

"My table's open, in case you need a place to sit. It sucks that your schedule places you in a different lunch than the rest of your team."

"I know, and thank you. Again. You really don't have to though."

"But I want to anyway, if it helps."

Velvet spared a small smile before brushing her ears a final time and standing.

"Ha, you're not off the hook Velvet, just wait until tomorrow." Cardin spat through a nasally voice, still trying to stop the blood coming from his nose.

All of a sudden, Cardin jerked and gasped for air, buckling over and clutching his stomach. Almost as if someone stomped on him.

_What just happened? Xera still didn't even move, how did Cardin get hit again?_ I thought with wide eyes, still watching to see if Xera makes a move.

Xera's gaze dipped before he walked over to Cardin, picking up a nearby apple as he passed the end of the table and shoving it between the downed guy's teeth, "When I last checked, the Winchester family had a standard for some amount of honor."

Cardin's eyes suddenly narrowed, before he tore the apple away and growled, "My family is none of your business."

"It is my business if I've helped sign deals with them before." Xera then leaned in a little, "Dealing with an anti-faunus company is bad for business. It'd be even worse if news got out that the Winchester's heir was consistently bullying a faunus on a daily basis."

As Xera stood up, Velvet gave him a quick hug and walked off, keeping her head low from the rest of the cafeteria.

Someone started to clap and pretty soon, the entire cafeteria was roaring with applause and hollers. Xera's let out a small breath before he turned and walked out of the cafeteria, trying to avoid all the attention.

_Why is Xera leaving, he's literally a hero now._ I thought as he left.

"Now _THAT_ was definitely worth it." Rex finally commented as he watched his friend leave.

"I have to admit, I'm feeling a lot better now that Cardin and his team were finally stopped, but I'm still not sure what happened to them." Allix jumped in, still thinking about how Xera was able to beat up team CRDL without even moving.

_I need to ask him about that later, I have to know how he did it._ I was pulled out of thought when team CRDL got up and started rushing in the direction Xera went.

"Oh no, they're going after him." I took off down the hallway, chasing after the students who were looking for revenge.

Allix and Rex followed me, all of us ran after the group. We stopped at the entrance to a courtyard.

My eyes widened as I saw Xera surrounded by Cardin and his goons. All of them holding their weapons and ready to gang up on him.

I was about to rush in when Rex put his arm in front of me, blocking my path. "Wait."

"What? We're his team, we need to help-"

"Skyla, take a good look at Xera, tell me what you see." Allix said gesturing toward my partner surrounded on all sides.

I took a closer look at Xera, focusing on his face and noticed something, my eyes widened as realization struck me. "He's completely calm, he doesn't even look fazed!" I exclaimed after turning toward my teammates.

"Hey scrub, those were some pretty cheap shots you pulled back there, too bad we're prepared this time. There's no way you can beat all four of us." Cardin taunted with a smirk across his bloody face, "You have no right talking about my family like that."

"Yeah!" "Right boss!" Dove and Russel declared.

Xera still didn't respond, but his red eyes started to glow a little, giving off a light red hue. Still paying no attention to his ambushers, Xera pulled out a small book and started… reading?!

_He's reading, he's freakin' reading even though he's surrounded by lethal weapons and angry faces!_ I stared wide eyed and confused at his actions.

"Pft, you aren't even going to fight back? Fine with me, you'll regret that after I'm done with you." Cardin sneered and took a step forward, ready to slam his mace down onto Xera.

I flinched as he swung downward, slamming his mace through Xera's body and straight into the ground. The man's eyes went wide as Xera's form then disappeared.

"What the…" My eyes went wide as I saw Xera appear beside the embedded weapon. My leader then slammed the edge of his book into Cardin's throat, forcing him back with a constricted windpipe.

Dove and Russel charged Xera's flank after a moment of pause, taking their swings at his exposed back only to phase through him yet again.

Their weapons, instead, made direct contact with Cardin's coughing body. A leader and his minions soon tumbled to the ground in a heap of bodies.

Finally recovering from his shock, Sky charged Xera's back. Xera seemingly sensed the attack and ducked under Sky's wide swing of his weapon, creating an opening. Xera took the opening instantly and kicked the back of the guys knees.

Throwing him down into a forced kneel before putting pressure between his shoulder blades.

A flood of aura then caused Xera's hand to glow at the point of contact.

"Not many people know of this pressure point, but it's a direct line to the spine. I do hope you're okay with being paralyzed for the rest of your life."

Sky froze in place after he felt the hot rush collide against his own shield, "No wait, I surrender, alright? I give. I was just following my boss's lead." He blurted out, trying to save himself from a world of pain.

Cardin and his team stood up quickly, but didn't immediately charge in.

"Good. Velvet's a good friend of mine. It's a good idea not to mess with her." Xera spoke calmly, "It's an arduous task to stop what you guys enjoy, but I'm asking you to try. Or we'll be doing this more often. Do we have a deal?"

Sky nodded frantically, "Yes, yes, deal. We won't bully Velvet or gang up on anyone from now on. I promise." Sky stuttered, looking like he was gonna pass out at any moment. His words caused Cardin to tighten his grip on his mace.

"Good, a few nurses will be here any minute." Xera stated.

"W-wait, but no one got hurt-"

Xera suddenly disappeared again, his form fading as he reappeared in front of Cardin. Our leader then kicked out Cardin's steady stance, spreading his legs unnaturally wide then put a little pressure on his upper body.

With the loss of balance, Cardin's eyes had time to widen before falling backward. Luckily, or is it unluckily, his two teammates caught him.

"They'll be here to make sure your leader doesn't die. Maybe then he'll know to hold back." Xera said calmly, before covering his book with his aura and slamming it into Cardin's abdomen.

The force was enough to cripple Cardin's form, crumpling him inward against the strike. My eyes widened in shock. Cardin's aura should've deflected that! Instead, the aura glowing across Xera's book was a direct match to Cardin's own.

Before the struck bully could retaliate, Xera lifted then jabbed the book's spine into Cardin's throat again, before turning it in his hand and slamming the binding down onto big bird's head.

Knocking him out of his teammate's grasps and onto the ground to groan.

"Don't go back on your word. And please, for the love of Oum, stop smothering your potential. You guys can fight, you just like to pick your battles." Xera sighed as he pocketed his book and walked off, letting the rest of team Cardinal huddle around their leader.

They were quickly ushered away by an angry grumble.

"How do the nurses know about this already?" I asked, still a little shocked.

Xera only smirked, giving me an amused look, "I called it in when I noticed them following me, and I kinda figured they would need medical treatment if they planned on attacking me."

"Woah, not gonna lie but I'm a little impressed right now." Rex stated.

"Yeah, I'm happy that you didn't lethally hurt any of them and you still got the point across… with a book no less" Allix chimed in.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" I yelled, happy that big bird and his goons got what they deserved.

"Come on, let's head back to lunch." Xera said while gesturing us to follow him.

Xera was greeted like a hero when he walked back into the cafeteria, everyone turning their attention to him and cheering his name.

"Yeah! Xera, you're a hero and everyone is gonna look up to you now!" I yelled, happy to see that everyone appreciated what he did for Velvet.

"On second thought, you guys go on ahead. I think I forgot something in the courtyard." Xera stated while sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Oh no you don't! You're going to enjoy the spotlight whether you like it or not!" Rex exclaimed while pushing Xera toward our table, cheering "Let's hear it for XERA!"

I couldn't help but giggle at Xera's attempt to get past Rex and avoid all the attention.

"Why are you so embarrassed Xera? You're literally a hero now, why try and avoid the attention?" Allix asked, covering her amused smile with the book she was carrying.

"I just don't like being the center of attention guys. It's just something I don't like." He answered still embarrassed by the constant praise he was receiving.

"Well, too bad for you because you're not getting out of it." Rex stated while lifting Xera up onto his shoulders, completely against his will.

_Yup, I love my team._ I thought while watching Rex embarrass Xera even more. _Don't ever change guys._

* * *

**Yea, Cardin gets beat up! So, a few hints about Xera's Semblance, which will be revealed in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, **_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, leave a **_**REVIEW**_**, have a good one guys.**

***Hehe, this entire scene has been reworked! So, I think it's cooler and more practical. This also showcases his semblance, yes. But it shows so much more than that… which you won't actually find out about for a while. You will find out about his semblance though!**

**Cya XP**


	11. City of Vale

**Sooooooo...yeah. Been two weeks, really unexpected break but we're back. We just had to work out a few plot things and make a few decisions. Anyway, sorry about that. Here's Chapter 11, brought to you by Sky!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 11: City of Vale

**Skyla POV**

"Yo team XSRA!" I called into the room where Xera, Rex, and Allix were chilling in and doing boring stuff. Xera was still writing in his journal, Rex was playing guitar, and Allix was reading.

Rex broke a guitar string from the sudden interruption, Allix dropped her book and Xera simply glanced my way, still writing in his little book.

"What now Skyla?"

I extended my arms and exclaimed, "We're going to Vale!"

Rex was busy trying to find a new guitar string but still managed say, "Sure, why not?"

"It is a Saturday, so we have the whole day to ourselves." Allix agreed.

Xera just shrugged and started getting out of his bed.

"Wait, before we go, I've been meaning to ask something." Allix cut in while putting her book away.

"Ok Allix, shoot."

"Well, ever since Xera took on team CRDL, I've been wondering how he did it."

"I am a little curious about that too, just never wanted to ask." Rex joined in, still rummaging through one of his bags.

"I thought about that too! So…Xera…What's your secret?" I asked pointing an accusing finger at him.

Xera looked at everyone, all staring at him with expecting faces. He sighed and admitted defeat.

"Alright, since you asked about it, I will tell you my secret. You see, it all has to do with my semblance."

I grew even more eager and waited for him to continue.

"Well, I call it Deception. I'm able to cast a hologram of myself for 5 seconds, and at the same time, I turn invisible and untraceable for those 5 seconds. I can then reposition or strategically retreat."

"Ooooo, so you can do sneak attacks or run away?" I interrupted.

Xera glanced at me and sighed, "In other words, yes Skyla, and it is very fun to do so. But…there is a drawback to my ability."

"And…there's the but I was waiting for." Rex said, currently attaching a new string to his guitar.

"While I'm invisible, I can't channel any aura or use any aura at all, that will break the illusion early and make the hologram disappear. It takes a little aura to even use Deception as well." Xera explained.

"That sounds SO COOL!" I yelled, excited to know my friend is a super ninja.

"That does sound tactical." Allix stated.

"Dude. You have to show us your semblance in action, but after we head down to Vale." Rex added.

"Alright, let's go."

_-Minutes later-_

"EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK WE'RE IN VAAAALEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I squealed loudly looking around at the stores.

"You're excited. "

"I know right!"

Rex and Allix were off searching for food for the rest of us while Xera and I wondered around aimlessly.

Xera suddenly walked off as we passed a pair of familiar people. I glanced at them and my eyes widened.

"Nora! Ren!" I shouted running over to them excitedly.

"Skyla! Xera!" Nora shouted back hugging me. I laughed loudly as Xera and Ren exchanged a wave.

"Didn't realize you two would be here" Ren said. "Who's on your team?" He added.

"We have Rex Tyro and Allix Stowe. You'll love them when they get here. What about you?"

Ren smiled. "I have Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikkos"

"Ohhhh they sound interesting"

We chatted for a while laughing at jokes Nora told.

Xera suddenly stopped and was staring off into the crowd. _"Jeez, he looks like he just saw a ghost."_

"Hey, Xera. You alright?"

"Hmmm…oh, I-I'm fine Skyla."

"You don't look fine, what's wrong?" _"His eyes are red, I have to remember what each color means."_

"It's nothing, I just thought I saw someone."

"Hey you guys coming or what?!" Nora yelled, flagging us down.

"Yea, wait up guys were coming!" Xera yelled back.

We settled at a café for a bit, Nora and I drank iced coffees and Xera and Ren settled for a cup of hot coffee and a cinnamon bun. I drank my coffee silently watching Xera and Ren talk about things and other things oh and did I mention they talked about things?

Mainly about weapons and their names. Personally, I didn't find a name for my swords.

"Yeah mine are called Anivia's Talons." Xera said gently patting the two boomerangs on his back like a father to a young son.

"MINE ARE CALLED THUNDER AND LIGHTNING!" I interjected standing proudly showing off my swords.

"But Skyla, last battle you shouted, Sapphire and Rose, do your thing!" Xera said interrupting my gleeful pose. I sunk back into my seat and pouted. "I haven't found a name yet." I mumbled.

Nora laughed loudly and patted my back gently. "It's alright Skyla. I didn't find a name until later after my friends did! It'll come to you soon. I promise." I smiled at her and continued sipping on my iced coffee which was starting to water down making a foul taste in my mouth. I stared at the cup with distain secretly wondering if I should throw it away but I seriously think my concentrating face looks like I'm constipated and can't poop.

"What are you thinking about?" Xera asked eyeing me suspiciously.

"How did you know I was thinking?"

"You looked constipated."

"oh…"

I got up and walked over to the trash can to throw it away when someone popped up to my side screaming. "NO DON'T THROW THAT AWAY! YOU MURDERER!" They quickly ran away out of my sight. I stood there dumbfounded before glancing out the window and nearly squealed.

There walking across the street was Allix and Rex.

I ran out the store and waved frantically at the two making a big fool out of myself.

"ALLLIXXXX…REXXX…OVER HERE!" I shouted doing what reminded me of a monkey dance. They saw me and immediately laughed before jogging over to the small coffee shop. I lead them to our table where Ren, Xera, and Nora were happily chatting.

I cleared my throat gaining their attention. "Nora, Ren meet my other team mates Allix and Rex." I gestured to each person and sat down. I noticed Allix's gaze never left Ren.

"_Ohhhh does someone have a crushy wushy" _I thought squeezing my cheeks together.

"Umm…Skyla you okay there?" Rex asked waving a hand over my face. I blinked a few times and looked at him.

"You kinda squished up your face there."

I turned a tomato red and hid my face in embarrassment while everyone else laughed it off.

Ren stood and waved someone over and sat down. "Now it's time for you to meet my team."

"Team JNPR!" Nora exclaimed in excitement.

Two people, a boy and a girl walked over and took a seat. Rex, Allix, Xera, and My eyes all widened upon realization of the two people. The girl had red hair and a Sparta look to her and the boy had blond hair.

I leaned close to Rex and whispered, "That's the guy you hit with pie."

He nodded and whispered back, "I know." our eyes never left the pair as they waved.

"What's wrong with you guys? You look like you've just witnessed a murder." Nora asked staring at us.

I pointed at the boy and waved. "What's your name?"

"Jaune and that's Pyrrha."

"Jaune…did you happen by chance be hit by a maybe this is a wild guess…a walnut and strawberry pie while you were training?" I asked.

Jaune and Pyrrha's eyes widened.

"Yea….I did. How did you know?" He asked growing suspicious.

"IT WAS REX'S FAULT!" Allix and I shouted at the same time pointing at the boulder beside me.

"Nu huh! Allix did it!"

"Did not."

"So…. You guys were the ones who threw a pie out the window and hit us in the face while we were training?" Pyrrha asked.

"It wasn't on purpose. Rex hates walnuts."

"Indeed."

"And I made him a pie with walnuts and offered it. I didn't know he hated the nut so when he saw it, he threw it and you two just so happenly were below us…training…." Allix trailed off.

"Bad luck Jaune."

"I know..."

_"I looked at the time and thought fir a bit contenting if I should go pee or not._

_Do I?_

_Nah._

_Wait maybe I do._

…_.._

_Yep I do._

_No wait wait….no I don't need to._

…

_I need to pee."_

"Excuse me." I said walking away towards the bathroom.

Behind me I heard them talking.

"Did you see her scrunching her face up every once in a while?"

"It's her thinking face"

"Cute right!"

"I'm adorable I know!" I said loud enough for them to hear before fully disappearing into the bathroom door.

That must have shut them up.

_"I am fabulous!"_

Once done, I walked out and greeted my people.

"So who wants to rob a bank?" I asked facing my crew.

They stared at me strangely like I was insane or crazy until they began to laugh.

"Nice one Skyla."

"You really had me going there!"

Now it was my turn to look at them dumbly. "What are you talking about? Im being serious here. I want to rob a bank!"

_-Few Minutes Later-_

We walked into a shop and watched as Xera and Rex looked over some guitars. Rex grabbed a guitar weighed it before plucking some stings. Even Xera grabbed one and tested it out. I soon grew bored after they had tested like a few more guitars. I shouldered Allix gently and pointed my head towards a set of drums.

We walked off as I sat behind the drums and Allix grabbed a mic.

"ONE TWO THREE!" I Shouted clicking the two drum sticks together before banging them on the drums wildly.

Allix starts singing a song I didn't know as I tried to match the beat with the drums.

"They see you as small and helpless. They see you as just a child."

The store manager soon came and kicked us both out. We waited grumpily for Xera and Rex to come out.

"I can't believe we were kicked out!" I pouted.

"I know! We totally rocked!"

"This store doesn't know music!"

Xera and Rex came out with guitars of their own and we went on to the next store! A library.

I groaned loudly at the first glance at it.

"Whyyyy?"

"For Allix."

Who…isn't here….

I walked in with the others as they all browsed the sections of books. Miles and miles of shelves packed with dusty old books containing boring words that would suck to be forced to finish.

I disappeared a short while later and when the group found me an hour later, I was sitting in front of a group of small kids with a childrens book in hand. I was in the middle of reading them a story of Castle Whites.

"And so the two small dwarves set off in the journey to find the stunning princess in hope she could once again bake the cookies she made before. They danced and wiggled throughout the forest singing the familiar tune of the dwarf song." I paused and glanced at the excited kid facess.

"Ready?" I whispered watching them nod in excitement.

"Ohhhhh we are dwarves. Setting on a journey." we started singing loudly off key.

After we had finished the story we left the library.

"So since we visited one store for Rex and I and another for Allix, Skyla where do you want to go?"

"The bank."

"Why?"

"To rob it."

"WHAT?!"

"Hahahahaha I'm kidding!" I laughed shaking my head at them. "Lets get some ice cream."

I skipped happily away towards the ice cream parlor where we all ordered a sundae and sat together and ate.

"So…" Rex began with a mouthful of chocolate syrup.

"Ewwww…..Rex! Swallow first!" Allix complained covering her eyes from the remaking of the sundae in his mouth.

He blushed and swallowed his food before continuing. Clearing his throat he began, "We should head back after this. Its getting dark."

We all nodded in agreement and continued to eat until it was all finished off.

"Well…before we do that…I still want to rob that bank."

* * *

**There you go. Oh and we have plenty of stuff planned for this story now and IT...WILL...BE...DRAMATIC! YEA!...I think...well it should be at least. Anyway, **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**, tell Sky she's awesome...**

**Cya**


	12. Targeted by an Old Friend

**Hiya, I think it's time to start adding a little plot to the story and introducing an unknown enemy. Do you guys remember that little scene in the last chapter? The one where Xera 'supposedly' saw a ghost in the middle of a crowd during the trip to Vale...yea that one! Admittedly the scene was a little subtle but it happened none the less. Keep that in mind when reading this new chapter. Anyway, Cya at the bottom!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 12: Targeted by an Old Friend

**Xera POV**

I waited for the rest of my team to fall asleep after our trip to Vale. Once I was sure they were far enough into the dream world, I quietly left the dorm room and started wondering around the halls of Beacon.

_"I saw him, I know it was him, there's no one else that it could have been. But I thought he died years ago. Gah…it's so frustrating, all these questions and no answers. Maybe a walk will clear my head."_ I thought as I continued down the dark corridors.

I found myself outside a tall wooden door, a name plate attached to a clouded glass window on the upper half. The name plate read, "_Head Master's Office"_.

_"I wonder if he's up right now. If anyone needs to know about this, it would be Ozpin."_

With that thought, I raised my fist and knocked it against the door three times. "Come In."

_"Good, he's awake."_

I turned the handle and opened the door, stepping inside the simple office. Ozpin sat at a fairly large desk, pushed back toward a large window behind him. There was a plant in the corner, two book shelves along the right wall, and multiple seats placed along the sides of the room and in front of his desk.

"Hello Xera, what do you need?" Ozpin questioned, casually folding his hands together and placing his chin on top of his interlaced fingers.

"There's something I need to tell you." I started. He gestured me to sit down and waited for me to continue.

I took a seat and breathed in a little, after releasing the air I turned toward the head master and said in a serious tone, "I saw him. He was in Vale, alive and well, and I think I know who's behind it."

Ozpin didn't look shocked, almost like he already knew about this fact. "I see. What are you going to do about his appearance?"

"That's the thing, I want to know what happened, why he's not dead, why he was gone for so long, I need to talk to him. We were close…he was like a brother to me. The least I can do is confront him."

"He may not be the one you once knew, his death was faked for a reason. And his sudden appearance only suggests that he's here for you…but not to have a conversation. I've known about a young man who appeared to match you're old friends appearance for a while now. I never had any solid images or descriptions but what I've found is that he is an assassin that has never let a target live. He also modifies his ammunition to match the aura signature of his target so that it can pass through any aura wall or shield that they produce for protection."

I shifted in my chair a bit, taking in all this information. "If what you're saying is true, then I need to figure this out fast. He may not still be my childhood friend, but I have a feeling that he's somewhere in there. If I can talk to him…maybe I can find out what happened and why."

Ozpin gave a small grin and sighed, "It appears that you're still as stubborn as ever Xera. So, what are you planning to do?"

"I'll figure it out, but until I do, I'll continue my studies here at beacon. After all, he hasn't made a move yet. I just hope he doesn't hurt my team. This is about me, not them."

"Alright, I trust you with this decision and expect that you don't wait too long. We both know why he's been waiting, and you don't want to wait until he makes his final modifications to match your aura signature, you will have no protection when that time comes." He got up from his chair and turned around, gazing out into the darkness of night. "You still have time, but not as long as you might think. Have a good night Xera, and good luck."

"Alright, thank you, and good night sir."

After I left the head master's office, I continued through the halls thinking through all the possibilities I could come up with.

_"Running isn't an option. There's always trying to find him, but tracking him is useless. He's like a ghost. He's in and out in a dark blur with only one shot, always reaching its mark. According to Ozpin, he has never failed a mission…ever. My team can't get involved, I don't need them getting hurt. I guess it's just up to me then, all I can do right now is prepare."_

I entered a large courtyard with a stone pathway leading around the edges, pillars supporting the overhanging roof above the perimeter. There was a large circle of stone bricks in the middle, and a pathway leading up to a large statue which stood in the center. The statue was of a huntsman and a huntress, staring off into the distance alongside a Grimm at their feet.

_"These two must have been important to get a statue built in their honor."_

I was still admiring the statue when the clicking of footsteps on stone echoed through the quiet atmosphere. A girl was running out of the entrance on the other side of the statue, it was the same girl I saw on the air ship a while back, during my first day at beacon. She still had that bow on her head too.

_"What's she doing up so late, and why is she running."_ I thought as I stood on the other side of the statue, wondering why she was up right now.

Quiet sobbing could be heard in the air as she approached the center of the courtyard. _"Is she…crying?"_ I thought to myself as I quietly approached her.

She looked up at the statue, amber eyes glistening in the moonlight. Her arm reached up above her head as she lightly tugged at one of the ends to her bow.

The girl's bow came undone and slid off her head, revealing a set of black cat ears. _"I knew it, the slight twitch of her bow on the air ship I saw before was definitely not my imagination."_

I approached her quietly, trying not to shock her in her current state.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a quiet tone.

She spun around fast, her cat ears flattened against her head in an attempt to hide them as she looked at me with wide eyes. This caused me to stop my approach. _"Alright, be gentle, take things slow and cautiously."_

"Do you mind if I come closer?" I questioned, clearly she wasn't okay.

The girl nodded and I walked up to her, still keeping a little distance to give her some space. "Do you want to talk about it, it might help?" I asked, still not taking my eyes off the glowing amber orbs in front of me.

"No…not really." She responded in a hushed tone, still unsure if I was friend or foe. _"Maybe if I activate my aura a bit, I might be able to calm her down a little."_

"It's alright, that's probably none of my business anyway, but if you need a friend, I'll be happy to help." I said in a comforting tone, releasing a little bit of aura. She relaxed a little as I took a step closer, releasing a little more aura to warm the atmosphere.

"We met before you know, back on the air ship. You were the one reading in the corner opposite from me." I stated, trying to converse a little and lighten the mood.

"Yea, I remember you. You were the one staring at me right?" She asked, catching me a little off guard.

"Oh, you saw that huh?" I sheepishly scratched the back of my head, breaking eye contact in the process. "Sorry, I was looking at the bow. I kinda figured you were wearing it for more than just fashion."

She smirked a bit after noticing me trying to hide a blush, "Are they that noticeable?" she asked, perking her ears up a little as she got more comfortable.

"Not really, I just happen to be observant enough to notice." I said, still a little sheepish but looking back at her. _"She's smiling, that's a good thing."_

"Alright, but why are you out here so late?" She asked, tilting her head to the side with a curious glint in her eyes. _"Wow, she really does look like a cat now that I think about it, it's actually kinda cute."_

"I was just taking a late night walk to let myself think a bit and cool off. Do you mind if I ask you the same question?"

"Well, I'm just trying to sort a few things out with my team, especially one person in particular."

She still looked at me curiously. It looked like she was trying to study me.

I looked down at my clothes, then back up at her. "What? Green is my favorite color. I didn't think I looked _that _bad." I said with an emphasis on 'that', trying to get her to smile more.

Her small smirk turned into a grin as she spoke, "No, you look fine. I was just wondering why I feel so comfortable around you." she said, still not taking her gaze away from my eyes. _"She was bound to notice eventually."_

"You noticed. Well I guess you were probably going to sense something eventually. And to answer your curiosity, I have an affinity toward fire. Which means I can use my aura and manipulate that element, people told me that it actually creates a soothing and comforting atmosphere as well. So, I figured it might help." I explained, hoping she doesn't ask how I actually have a relation to fire.

"I guess that makes sense, and those people are right, it does feel very soothing." She responded in a relaxed tone.

"Good. Hey, I never got your name by the way." I said, glad that's she's feeling better.

"It's Blake, Blake Belladonna. What's yours?"

"My name's Xera and I'm glad I was able to get you to relax a little. You look better without the bow by the way, but I can understand why you hide them."

"You seem really comfortable around faunus and you're very trusting with them, why?" Blake asked.

I paused for a second, trying to find the right words, "Let's just say, I grew up surrounded by them." I said.

"Why's that?" She responded, regaining her curious tone.

"Well, I was hoping you wouldn't ask but I can give an answer since I can probably trust you. You see…my mother was a faunus."

"What kind of faunus was she, and does that make you a faunus as well…if you don't mind me asking?"

"She's...not…the usual faunus, I'll leave it at that. And I'll leave the second part of that question for another time, but for now, I'll take my leave since you're feeling better."

She looked a little disappointed at my response but smiled anyway. "It was nice to meet you Xera. Maybe we'll see each other around again.

I smiled, knowing I made another friend. "Alright, I'll see you around Blake, and good night. I hope you can sort it out with your team, whatever it was, I'm sure they'll understand if you just talk to them about it."

I started walking away, back toward the entrance to the courtyard.

"Oh, and Blake?" I said, looking over my shoulder.

"Yea?"

"Say hi to that monkey faunus for me, he's been sitting on that lamp post over there listening to us." I stated, smiling a little knowing that the eaves dropper was probably really confused right now.

"Hey, how did you know I was up here?!" Said the shadow atop the light post.

"The banana gave you away, and like I said, I'm very observant. Good night to you both, and maybe I'll see you around as well." I responded, walking away from them.

I didn't need to look back, I knew Blake was probably surprised and slightly annoyed that she didn't notice him, and the monkey faunus was most likely wearing a confused and shocked expression.

_"Well…that went well. I wonder if I'll see Blake again later on, but for now…sleeeeeeeeeeep." _I thought as I approached the hallway leading to my dorm room.

I swiped my card and the door unlocked. Opening it as quietly as I could, I walked in silently and slid under the covers to my bed, letting sleep take over as I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Yea! Character development and stuff, plus some potential. I wonder what's the deal with Xera and his mother...could he possibly be a faunus...and what kind? Hmmmmmm...anyway, a lot of the unanswered actions and questions will eventually be answered in the future. Only time will tell. So, **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**, the usual stuff. **

**Cya**


	13. Ancient Protectors

**Being sick is one of the most annoying things you can do, it sucks. Whatever you do...DON'T GET SICK! Anyway, who's ready for story time?**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 13: Ancient Protectors

**3rd Person**

Two young boys sat in front of a woman, both thinking about the stories she tells and the adventures she talks about. Her name…was Leona, and like all mothers…she had a son. His name was Xera, the little boy awaiting the story that he has yet to be told. Standing next to him was his brother, technically he was adopted into the family at birth. They lived in a small cabin, deep within the woods and surrounded by trees. Night was eminent and stars appeared in the sky above.

"Have I ever told you about…the dragons?"

"Oooo, please tell us!" "Yeah, tell us the story!" Both boys ran over to Leona, who was sitting in her chair situated in front of the fireplace.

"Alright, alright, now sit still and listen up you two. Sometimes you're both too stubborn for your own good."

Both boys shifted, sitting cross legged in front of Leona. The fire place flickered and dimmed, creating an ambient atmosphere inside the wooden cabin. The sunset outside the window cast shadows upon the walls, beams of light glided across the floor as the sun sank into the horizon. Trees glimmered and swayed, awaiting the soon return of day, and standing their ground throughout the night.

"Now, you both know about the huntsman and huntress's responsibilities don't you?"

"They fight monsters." "Yeah, they protect us against the darkness."

"Well, do you know what the world was like before the hunters became the guardians that protected us? This story takes place before the hunters came to be, before we gained power, before we even existed."

"It all starts centuries ago. Back before human and the faunus roamed the Lands of Remnant, back in ancient times where the world bustled with beasts we can only imagine."

"Among those beasts reined a superior species, one of fire and strength, kings of the sky and leaders of the ancient beings, possessing eternal life and armor made of scales, beasts with wings as large as buildings and as sharp as blades. Their bodies were strong and noble, not daring to take advantage of the smaller beasts that lived among them."

"You see, these monsters were no Grimm, they had a soul and a will to protect those who needed guidance, those who couldn't protect themselves. They were the huntsmen of the ancient times, the protectors of Remnant, the Knights of Honor. These beasts were no monsters in the eyes of those around them, they were heroes…protectors, and they stood guard against the darkness. These ancient hunters…were the _dragons_."

"These dragons can live for a very long time, eventually surviving until the era of humans. It was at this moment when the Grimm infested lands and armies of feral beasts shifted their gaze upon a new target, the helpless new species that just entered this world…the_ humans_."

"War broke and battles raged, dragons fought to protect the humans from early extinction and defended the new age that would soon follow. The fire breathing beasts pushed back the dark beings…but at a grave price."

"The Grimm species are strong, soul-less beasts and are a force to be reckoned with. The dragons fought long and fierce battles, eventually falling to the fangs and claws of the darkness. Countless protectors died in this ancient war, giving their lives for those few humans that still lived."

"The Ancient War lasted for years, countless Grimm slaughtered, dragons slowly dwindling in numbers until one fateful day…only one remained. His name…was Vulderak. He was the king of the dragons, the strongest of all the ancient hunters, the last of the dragon race."

"He stood his ground against the endless waves of the darkness, fighting alongside the humans in a losing battle against an unbeatable foe. This was the final stand against extinction, this was when the ancient history ends…and the history of the human race begins."

"It was at this moment, this point in time…when fate changed. Underneath the ground, beneath where the last remaining dragon and humans stood, was something that would change the course of destiny, and start a new journey into a free world."

"There, buried in the ground, were endless veins of dust. Large cracks formed under the raging battle above, craters opening, and chunks of the land shifted, revealing a bright light that escaped the seams of the destroyed battlefield."

"Vulderak made one final stand and pushed back the Grimm just enough for the humans to jump into a deep crevice glowing red. At this moment, all time seemed to _stop_…the atmosphere changed and the sun broke through the endless dark clouds that engulfed the sky."

"The crevice glowed brighter, and out from the deep pit emerged the humans, now possessing red dust crystals of countless amounts. The humans unleashed the power contained in the chunks of dust and gained the upper-hand in this war, turning the tides in favor of a new future."

"And that…is where we come in, where our history starts and new hunters were born. We utilized the new found dust and kept the Grimm at bay. We built cities, civilizations emerged and new species like the faunus came to be. This was all thanks to the ancient protectors of this world. It was thanks to the _dragons_ that we are here today, alive and thriving in this time of peace."

"Woah." Young Xera muttered, amazement in his voice.

"How do you know so much about the dragons?" Asked the slightly older boy sitting next to Xera.

Leona gave a loving chuckle, "Well, would you boys believe me if I told you I met one?"

"What!?" "No way, but how? I thought they were all gone."

"Oh…you seem to have forgotten the one I told you about in the story. He stood at the peak of eminent destruction and fought alongside the humans."

"Vulderak? He's still alive?!"

"More than you know…now off to bed you two, it's getting late."

"Awwww." The two boys groaned in disappointment.

"Come on, let's go." Leona stood and led the boys to their room. It was a small, square space that contained a bunk bed and a small dresser. She tucked them in and gave each one a good-night kiss.

"Good-night you two, and sweet dreams, I love you both."

"Night mommy, love you." "Good-night mom, love you too."

* * *

**Xera POV**

_**(**Back to present time**)**_

The morning sunlight broke through the crack in the curtains of our dorm window, shining across my face as I slowly awoke from my dream. It was early in the morning and still the weekend, which means no classes until Monday.

_"Reliving my past in my dreams…I don't mind it. At least it wasn't the bad memories." _I thought as I shifted in my bed, refusing to open my eyes and give in to waking up.

"_It's the weekend. No need to get up so early. Sleeeeeeeeeeep."_

I was just about to drift off again when a small stone bounced off the glass of one of my dorm windows, the one closest to my bed.

_"What the-"_

***Clink***

Another rock was thrown at the window. My eyes shot open and I glanced around the room. Skyla was still fast asleep, snoring softly. Allix remained on her back and eyes closed, I'm only assuming she's still asleep. Rex was snoring loudly, a clear sign that he still remained in the dream world.

_"I'm not getting up. Not gonna do it-"_

***Clink***

_"Nope. Not moving-"_

***CLINK***

_"Nuh-uh. Still not getting up-"_

***CLINK!***

_"Oh for the love of-"_

***SMASH!***

A slightly bigger stone smacked against the glass, slightly cracking it as it bounced off.

_"Alright, alright, I'm coming."_

I got out of bed and approached my window. I glanced outside and saw the monkey faunus from the other night sitting on a tree branch outside my window, eating a banana with a stash of rocks piled next to him. He waved at me as I opened the window.

"What's with the rocks? And how did you know this was my window?" I asked in a quiet tone, trying not to wake my team.

"I didn't know where your dorm was. You have no idea how many windows I threw rocks at trying to find you. It was actually really hilarious seeing all the annoyed faces." The banana eating teen spoke, holding back his snickering at the last sentence.

"Alright, but why did you need me?" I asked.

"Right…Blake wanted me to come get you and meet her at a café down in Vale. So you coming or what?"

"Okay, just…give me a few minutes to change and grab some things. I'll meet you outside."

I shut the window and grabbed my usual clothes. I also grabbed Annivia's Talons just in case.

_"I wonder why Blake wants me to tag along, I only just met her and I barely know her. I guess it's worth going along, maybe I can learn more about her that way."_ I thought as I changed and strapped my blades to my back.

I reopened the window and stepped out onto the window-sill, quietly closing the window behind me. I turned and jumped into the tree, climbing my way down to the ground where the monkey faunus stood.

"Do you know why Blake wants me to tag along?" I asked, now walking next to the banana lover.

"No clue and the name's Sun. Sun Wukong."

"Nice to meet you Sun, I'm Xera."

"Cool name, so…about the other night, how did my banana give me away?"

"Oh…right. You see, bananas make me sick so I trained myself to be able to sense the fruit if it's somewhere near me. It actually has a very distinct odor."

"That makes sense…but how can you hate bananas?!"

"It's not that I hate them, it's the fact that my body can't handle them."

"Oh, well do you mind if I eat one on our walk to the air ships?"

"I don't mind, just as long as the smell isn't too strong, but you have to ditch it before we get on the air ship. There's no way I'm sitting anywhere near you if you bring it onboard."

"Okay, sheesh. I was going to finish it before we got on anyway." He responded, holding up his hands as if he was defending himself.

Sun was almost finished with his banana as we approached Beacon's air ships, ready to lift off and bring early passengers into Vale. We reached the boarding dock and Sun deftly tossed the remains of his snack into a trash bin across the walkway.

"Alright, time to go meet up with Blake and see what's up." I stated as we boarded the vessel bound for Vale.

The trip to the city wasn't very eventful. I sat by a window and listened to music while Sun played with his tail the entire ride. We soon descended and landed at our destination. The doors opened and we strolled out across the walkway, heading toward the city streets that stretched before us.

"Where's the café Blake wants to meet at?" I asked, glancing into store windows as we walked down the sidewalks of Vale.

"It should be just around the corner…ah! Here we are!" Sun proclaimed as we stepped into a small café. We walked up the stairs after ordering a few drinks. I ordered a hot coffee and Sun got himself some tea. At the top of the stairs was a door that leads out onto a balcony, which looked like an outdoor eating place with all the extra round tables and chairs placed around with a few customers idly chatting and drinking.

At one of the end tables close to the railing sat Blake, sipping tea as she read a book in front of her. We walked up to her and took our seats. Sun grabbed a chair from an empty table and sat across from the cat-faunus while I took a seat in between the two.

"So, you found him." Blake spoke up, putting away her book.

"Yup! Wasn't easy, but nothing's too difficult for me!" Sun exclaimed, clear pride eminent in his voice.

"Why did you have him find me anyway?" I questioned, still wondering why I'm here.

"Well, I never really explained myself the other night. So, I thought you'd want to know something after helping me. And Sun over there won't stop bothering me so I might as well tell you both at the same time." She explained, giving Sun an annoyed look.

"See! That's all I got out of you for the past day or so. Just simple answers and weird looks, but at least you're going to say something more now that _he's_ here." Sun responded, gesturing his tea cup at me as he spoke.

"You said you wanted to know more about me? Well here it is. Have you ever heard of the White Fang?" Blake started.

Sun placed his cup down and answered, "You mean those thieves who are giving us faunus a bad name. Yeah, if you ask me…their just a bunch of idiots."

I looked at Sun as he was taking another sip of his tea and cut in, "Nah, I just think they're a bunch of misguided faunus. Besides…you just called Blake an idiot."

Sun spit out what ever liquid was in his mouth and stared at me shocked and confused, "What?!"

"Xera's right, I used to be involved with the White Fang. You could even say I was born into it." Blake said in a mellow tone.

Sun put down his cup again and I turned my attention to Blake, waiting for her to continue.

"The White Fang used to be peaceful, they would protest and try to gain equality. I was there for every protest, I was at the front line holding up a sign and contributing my life to the White Fang, that was…until the leader stepped down and a new leader took his place."

She took a sip of her tea and continued.

"The new leader had new ways of gaining equality, and things turned more chaotic. We would attack stores and shops that refused to serve us, our peaceful protests would turn into uprisings, we would even steal from companies that used faunus labor."

She put her cup down and let out a small sigh.

"We were eventually treated equally, but not out of respect…out of _fear_. So…that was when I left and here I am now…a criminal hiding in plain sight thanks to a little, black bow." She looked up and twitched her ears, hidden under her bow a little for emphasis.

"Your team found out…didn't they?" I asked, figuring out what the other night was all about.

"Yeah, and I don't think they trust me anymore." The cat-faunus responded.

"How can you be sure if you don't talk to them? You never know, maybe they're more open minded than you think." I said reassuringly.

"Yeah, some people are more accepting than others you know." Sun joined in.

"Alright, I'll talk to them when I get the chance." She responded, deciding not to argue.

"Cool, now I think you should hear this." Sun said, gaining our attention.

"While I was hitching a ride on that boat, I heard the crew talking about a huge shipment of dust coming in at the docks tonight from the Shnee Dust Company. What are the chances that the White Fang might be paying the docks a little visit when that time comes?" Sun informed us.

"Well, I did notice a lot of robberies occurring around Vale. I never would have pegged the White Fang for it though." I said, thinking about all the stores that had been hit since my first year at beacon started.

"We don't know if it's the White Fang for sure. But we should go and find out, hopefully what you're suggesting isn't true." Blake responded.

"Alright, let's head down to the docks tonight. Maybe the White Fang aren't behind those robberies, but there's only one way to find out." I stated, knowing what my plans for tonight will consist of.

"Okay, let's go then and start scouting." Sun said as he stood up, gesturing for us to follow.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

_**(**Back at Team XSRA's Dorm Room**)**_

"Anyone know where Xera is?" I asked the other two in the room.

"Don't know, he was gone when I woke up." Rex responded.

"He left this morning, someone met up with him outside." Allix answered.

"How do you know that?" I questioned.

"I saw him jump out the window earlier and I heard talking outside. So I can only assume he met up with someone and headed off into Vale."

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's get down to Vale and see what he's up to!"

* * *

**In all seriousness...I actually don't like bananas all that much. Any friendly criticism is happily taken, please let me know if I'm doing okay for my first FanFic. Anyway, I have a question for anyone who cares to answer. PM me if you think I should re-write the first few chapters, the ones that took place before coming to beacon. If you think they need an over-haul, feel free to let me know, I'll be more than willing to do it. So, enjoy life guys! **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**, Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Do something with your life.**

**Cya**


	14. Dragon at the Docks

**I won't run when the storm clouds come,**

**I won't turn away, cuz if your eyes on the ground,**

**When the night come's 'round,**

**You only see the stars...when they fall like rain.**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 14: Dragon at the Docks

**Skyla POV**

"Come on! How can we find him in a city _this_ big?" I complained as we walked down the street in search of Xera.

"Skyla, you are the one who wanted to find him in the first place." Allix responded.

"Yeah, we haven't even searched downtown yet. Give it some time." Rex joined in.

"Fiiiiiiine, but we're stopping at a café for a snack." I said, stopping in front of our usual café.

After buying a few coffees and some food, we continued our search to find our team leader.

"It's getting dark guys, do you want to head back soon or wait 'till nightfall?" Allix asked as we snacked.

"Let's give it a little longer, besides, we still have a little while before the last airships go back to Beacon." Rex stated while eating some meat-lovers pizza slices.

***BOOM!***

"What. Was. THAT?!" I screamed, trying to find the direction the explosion came from.

"It sounded like it came from the docks!" Allix said, pointing toward a growing cloud of smoke emanating from the direction of the docks.

"Well let's go then!" I yelled as I started running toward the explosion, teammates in tow.

* * *

**Xera POV**

_**(**An Hour Earlier**)**_

We were sitting on a roof top overlooking the docks and massive containers of dust.

"So, what did I miss?" Sun asked while approaching us from behind, carrying a bunch of apples.

"Not much, nothing's happened yet." I responded.

"Okay, cool. Here I stole us some snacks!" Sun exclaimed, seemingly proud of what he accomplished.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake spoke up, eyeing the apples in Sun's arms.

"No…but when I do, I don't feel bad about it, if that's what you're asking."

Our little chat was interrupted by a bullhead flying overhead, shining a search light across the docks trying to find a safe location to land. When it landed, the bay door opened and out stepped a couple White Fang members.

"Oh, no." Blake mumbled, a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"You really didn't think the White Fang was behind this, did you?" I asked in a knowing tone.

"I guess deep down I knew…I just didn't want to be right." She responded.

"What's the hold up!?" Yelled someone from down below.

A man with a white suit and black pants stepped out of the bullhead. He was wearing a bolo hat and holding a cane. The man approached one of the White Fang members, who was holding large cables.

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human, especially not with one like _that_!" Blake said before jumping off the building, stealthily running behind a few crates for cover.

"Well, I guess were going to have to fight them. You ready?" Sun asked.

I nodded as we waited for Blake to make the first move.

She approached the man from behind and held a Blade at his throat, too close for an aura shield to protect.

"Nobody move!" Blake yelled, causing most of the White Fang members to stop what they're doing and draw their weapons.

Blake tugged her bow off, revealing her cat ears and continued, "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum!?"

"Oh, didn't you get the memo? You see, the White Fang and I are going on a little business venture together." The man said, hardly seeming fazed by the blade pressed against his throat.

"Well, what if I put a stop to your little operation?" The cat-faunus threatened.

"I wouldn't call it a _little_ operation…" He said just as two more bullheads flew in overhead, equipped with guns and dropping off even more White Fang members.

While she was distracted, the man shifted his grip on his cane and the tip popped open, then pointed it at the ground underneath Blake's feet.

"Blake! Look out!" I yelled just as an explosion emerged between the two, throwing Blake backward.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Blake rolled and got up onto her feet, dodging more dust flares coming from the man's cane. She used her semblance to get up close and take a few swipes at him with Gambol Shroud, but none of them landed.

"And…Good-Night!" Sun yelled as he planted both his feet into an unsuspecting White Fang member's face.

He turned and noticed he was now surrounded by more enemies, so he pulled out a red bow-staff and spun it around in a skilled manner, stopping the twirl and pointing it at one of the members.

Just as he was about to charge, a black blade flew through the air, knocking out the legs of the unsuspecting members around Sun. While all of them were on the ground, dust shells were shot into their defenseless bodies, knocking them out cold from the sudden impacts.

"Way to start the party without me Sun." Xera stated sarcastically, catching his boomerang and transforming his other weapon back into blade form.

"Fashionably late, I see. Not bad, but you can use some work on your entrance." Sun responded with a chuckle.

Xera and Sun fought off more waves of White Fang members as Blake tried to attack the cane-wielding man to no avail.

"You're not half bad kitty, but you're going to have to do much better to match _me_!" He yelled as he shot another flare toward the cat-faunus, sending her back a few feet from the impact.

"Well, it's been fun! But I really need to get going, so…good bye!" The man exclaimed as he fired another flare toward the still recovering Blake.

Just as the explosion was about to reach its mark, Sun jumped in front of it and spun his bow-staff at blinding speeds, making a make-shift shield and deflecting the dust flare.

As the smoke cleared, Sun ran in and attacked, sending a flurry of bow-staff strikes and shotgun blasts from his weapon. The man deflected the assault and found a slight window, striking Sun across the chest and knocking him back a bit. As he was about to follow up, Blake appeared in front of him yelling, "He's mine!" as she sent a barrage of slashes into him.

Xera finished off the rest of the White Fang members and turned to see a bullhead take off with a crate of dust attached to it.

"Oh, no you don't!"

He reared back his arms and threw his boomerangs at one of the bullhead's wings, both blades aiming for the same spot. The swords sliced through the metal and sent the vessel crashing down into the water surrounding the docks.

Catching Annivia's Talons, Xera turned just in time to dodge a volley of machine gun fire from the second bullhead. As he ran, the asphalt of the docks broke and shattered as the ground behind Xera was ripped to shreds.

He turned and took cover behind a large crane, avoiding the barrage of bullets coming from the vessel overhead. The machine gun fire halted as it tried to find its target again.

At the other side of the docks, Sun and Blake continued to fight against the man with the cane, appearing to be having trouble getting through his defense.

Sun was thrown back as Blake ran in, taking a few swipes at his chest, landing one but the other was quickly parried away.

She ducked under a swipe just as Sun jumped above her, smashing the butt of his staff into the man's head. He staggered back a bit, trying to recover but instead, received a flurry of slashes from Gamble Shroud.

Thinking quickly, he looked up and noticed a hanging container above his opponent's heads. He shot the cable holding it up and watched as the massive box crashed down into where the two were standing.

Blake rolled backwards, dodging the container and Sun dove forwards, ending up at the feet of the enemy. The man looked down, smirking as he aimed his cane at the downed Sun's head.

"Hey!"

A girl in a red cloak yelled from the top of one of the buildings, a massive scythe in hand.

"Oh, Hello Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" The man yelled back, apparently he knows the cloaked girl.

The girl looked back for a second, distracted by something. The man took this moment to shoot a flare at the girl, colliding into the unsuspecting girl's body and throwing her backwards. Just as the smoke cleared, a ginger-haired girl with a large bow and pigtails jumped down the building, landing, and creating a small crater from the sheer force of the impact.

Two more bullhead flew in, dropping off even more White Fang members and targeting their new enemy. Behind the girl, were 9 floating swords, almost like she was controlling them.

She threw her arm forward as her blades shot out, taking out the members in front of her with ease. The swords started spinning in front of her body, creating a shield to block the line of bullets shot at her from the bullheads above.

"These kids just keep getting weirder." The man said as he escaped into another bullhead, taking off, and leaving the docks.

"Dang, he got away!" Blake said as she noticed the bullhead flying off.

"It's fine, we'll get him next time." Xera said, now standing next to her. The bullhead that was targeting him from before was now distracted by the girl with the floating blades.

"Whoa, check her out!" Sun exclaimed while staring at the girl, feeling slightly impressed.

Just as he said that, the girl held out bother her arms in front of her, circling her blades around a slowing growing green ball of energy. The ball grew larger and brighter, and then she thrust her arms forward, shooting an enormous beam of energy into one of the bullheads, slicing it clean in half. The debris of the vessel landing in the water next to the dock with members of the White Fang jumping out and swimming away from the docks.

"_Are those strings? She's controlling the swords somehow, but no human can do that, unless..."_ Xera thought as he watched the girl shoot her swords into the side of another bullhead, pulling it down to the ground with sheer strength.

Two more bullheads appeared overhead, both seemingly equipped with large canons, taking aim at the girl below. She barely had time to put out her shield before being impacted by a stream of rockets fired from the vessels, throwing her backward into the building behind her.

"We need to help!" Xera yelled as he reared back his arm, ready to throw his blade.

Just as he was about to release it, the wind picked up all around them, whirlwinds of air lifted crates and fallen debris all over the place, sending them in every direction. The sky darkened and lightning struck, lighting the sky for a brief second as a large shadow appeared behind the clouds.

***BOOM!***

A blazing ball of fire pierced through the layer of dark clouds above, hurtling toward one of the bullheads at unbelievable speed. Before the vessel could react, the ball of fire impacted the top of the ship and sent the bullhead into a dive straight into the water.

The second bullhead starting to fly off, trying to avoid the same fate his fellow vessel suffered. But before it could even move a few feet, a large beast plummeted from the clouds, colliding with the vessel and slicing the entire body in half.

The remains of the bullhead crashed into the docks, impacting the ground and creating a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, the clouds in the sky parted and the storm died down, the wind stopped and the beast stood in the fire of the crash site. Gold and bronze scales covered his entire body, littered in scars and old battle wounds. Two large wings extended at both sides and a long neck protruded forward, connecting with a fierce looking head and spikes all along his back. The head was like a serpent but covered in heavy scales, his maw was filled with rows of large teeth as sharp as blades. Glowing eyes seemingly made of pure fire stared at the teens in front of him, mainly one in particular.

"**Xera Stark, I have been searching for you for quite some time now. And here you are."** The beast bellowed in a thundering voice, shaking the ground as he spoke.

"How do you know my name?!" Xera responded, gripping his weapons feeling slightly threatened.

"**I knew your mother, Xera." **It responded.

"How can you possibly know her, she's been dead for years." Realization struck Xera as he remembered a story his mother once told him when he was younger.

"Wait…no way. Vulderak?!"

"**Indeed, it appears she has mentioned me before."**

"But…why are you here?"

"**I am here to warn you. Something is coming Xera, and you're the only one powerful enough to challenge it."**

"What do you mean? How am _I_ the only one who can fight it?"

"**Your power exceeds your own understanding…you will realize your true potential soon enough. And when that happens, I will train you."**

"My true potential? What power do you think I possess?"

"**When the time is right, you will know."**

And with that, Vulderak took flight and soared into the clouds again, disappearing from view.

* * *

**Xera POV**

"_Power…what power? How do I fight something if I don't even know my true strength?"_ I thought as Vulderak flew away.

"Xera! What was that all about!?" yelled a familiar voice.

I turned and saw Skyla running up with the rest of my team.

"He was…an old friend?" I responded, not fully believing what I was saying.

"That…_that _was a dragon! I thought they were all extinct, but you just so happened to know one!" Allix exclaimed, extremely confused.

"That thing was a dragon?! He was huge!" Rex joined in as he followed Allix.

"You called him Vulderak, correct?" Blake asked.

"Yes, my mother told me a story about him and apparently, she even befriended him." I answered.

"Vulderak was the name of the dragon that saved humanity from extinction, back when they first discovered the properties of dust. How is he still alive?" She responded curiously.

"I'll explain later, but for now…I think some people are here to see you." I gestured toward three more teens approaching us.

"Oh, that's my team. I'm not entirely sure why they're here."

"Blake! Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you?!" asked a girl in white.

The girl in red was also there, she seemed perfectly fine despite taking a direct hit from a dust flare.

"Yeah, we've been searching Vale for the entire weekend. Where have you been?" The cloaked girl asked.

"Come on guys, let her explain. I'm sure she has a perfectly good explanation." A girl with blonde hair spoke up.

Blake sighed and looked at her team, "Okay, first of all, I want to tell you guys that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang, I haven't been sinc-"

"Stop right there." The girl in white interrupted.

"Since you've been gone, I've had some time to think about what happened. And I've come to a decision…" She said.

Blake looked a little worried, and so did the girl in the red cloak as they waited for her to continue.

"I don't care!" She exclaimed, causing the girls in front of her to relax.

Blake started to tear up a bit and brought her in for a hug.

"See, I told you they would understand." Sun said, giving Blake a double-thumbs up.

"But, I'm still not too sure about _you_." The girl in white said as she pointed a finger at Sun.

"Wait, who are you guys anyway?" Skyla spoke up, interested in who the other girls in front of us are.

"Oh, well this is my team. I'm Blake Belladonna, this is Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long." She gestured to each one as she named them off.

"Yeah, and we make up TEAM RWBY!" Ruby yelled in excitement.

"Woah, calm down sis. We still need to know their names." Yang said, grabbing hold of Ruby and stopping her from jumping up and down.

"Right, well my name is Xera Stark, this is Skyla Xerious, Rex Tyro, and Allix Stowe." I gestured toward my teammates as each one waved as their name was said.

"And we're TEAM XSRA!" Skyla cheered.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, but we really need to get going, the Beacon airships leave in less than 15 minutes." Weiss informed.

"You guys go on ahead, I'm going to head into town and find a place to stay. Besides, I was thinking about enrolling into Beacon tomorrow, maybe I'll see you around." Sun said as he waved us good bye.

"Bye Sun, thanks for helping us." "See ya Sun, I hope we see you around Beacon!" Blake and I exclaimed toward the monkey-faunus as we walked off with our teams.

"Hey, has anyone seen Penny?" Ruby spoke up.

"No idea, was that the girl with the floating swords?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's her, but I don't see her anywhere."

"I'm sure she's fine. She can definitely take care of herself in a fight." Blake said, reassuring Ruby that her friend was probably safe.

All of us walked back to the Beacon airship, barely catching the last one before it took flight towards the academy.

I stared out the window, watching the buildings fly by as the school came into view, _"I need to find out what Vulderak was talking about, what power, what kind of abilities do I have? Gah…I hate not having any answers. I guess I'll just have to wait and find out."_

* * *

**BOOM! Chapter 14 done and done. So, I tried making the docks scene from the show, but just a little more epic, also tried incorporating fighting (Not one of my strong categories), and introduce Vulderak (I tried making that part dramatic). Yeah, I think I did okay, please let me know what I can improve on. Anyway, I just wrote the past few chapters, so it's Sky's turn now, she's going to right chapter 15...be prepared for whatever she comes up with. Enjoy life guys, and **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**, keep being awesome. I'll cya guys later!**

**...**

**P.S. Lyrics from up top are from Klangkarussell - Netzwerk (Falls Like Rain) [Paris Blohm Remix] on the Proximity YouTube Channel.**

**Cya**


	15. Explanations and October Fest

**Just as a heads up, Sky and I are probably going to be working together on the chapters for now on instead of alternating. We're also messing around with 3rd Person views as well, so let us know what you guys think. Here's chapter 15!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 15: Explanations and October Fest

**3rd Person**

The morning after the docks, teams: RWBY, JNPR, and XSRA were all situated in the lounge outside their dorm rooms. The sun was rising and classes weren't for another hour. Most of the teens waited in excitement, that being Skyla, Nora, Ruby, Yang, and Jaune. The others just sat still and waited with interest, or occupied themselves with other activities while they relaxed before class.

Xera was just finishing up filling in the rest of team RWBY and team JNPR about what happened at the docks.

"So, I guess I should tell you guys what that thing was last night…" Xera started.

"You mean the big, hulking lizard at the docks?" Yang interrupted.

"Oooooo, that thing was SOOOO COOL!" Ruby jumped in.

Xera cleared his throat, regaining the sisters' attention, "Yes…the giant lizard thing. You all know about the history of the Humans right?"

"Yes, of course we all do. It was the time when we first discovered dust and overpowered the Grimm with our ingenuity." Weiss huffed, annoyed that she was woken up early for this.

"Well, do you know how the humans survived before they had dust?" Xera responded, catching the heiress off guard.

"They…they…survived by…" She sighed in defeat, "I don't know."

Xera smirked a little, knowing that he knew something that the heiress didn't.

"It was because of the dragons, wasn't it?" Blake spoke up from behind her book, now taking interest in the conversation.

"Yes Blake, the dragons were an untold part of history. They were the real reason why the humans came to be." Xera stated.

"How come I've never heard of them before?" Ren asked, curious as to why this never came up before.

"You see, after the ancient war against the Grimm, the humans were asked to keep the dragon's existence a secret. The last dragon that survived made the humans swear secrecy to allow him to live in peace for the rest of his life, knowing that he was no longer needed to protect the world anymore."

"Wait, so they just kept quiet all these years. Never telling a single person about what really happened?" Weiss spoke up, wondering why something so important could be left a secret.

"I can understand why the last remaining dragon wanted his existence to be unknown." Pyrrha said.

"How can you understand why he wants to be left out of history? He would be a hero, and he would literally be praised by civilization. Why throw that all away?" Jaune asked, directing his curiosity toward the Spartan warrior.

She gave Jaune a sympathetic look, "Sometimes Jaune…the spotlight can be too much. Some people just want to live in peace and quiet."

"I know what you mean, but for some people, you just can't get out of the spotlight." Weiss spoke up, sympathizing with Pyrrha.

"How do you two know about the dragons anyway?" Allix asked, gesturing towards Xera and Blake.

"Yeah, I was wondering where Blake heard about it too, because I only know one person, in the world, who knew the true history behind Human's survival." Xera stated, giving the cat-faunus a curious glance.

"Someone told me a story about them." Blake stated simply, shifting in her seat before she continued.

"She was a high-ranked member of the White Fang, a much respected one too. She was like a personal mentor to me, but she stopped showing up as often as she used to, due to family. I looked up to her, a lot of the members did. She was one of the reasons why I left."

Blake sighed and continued, "She was known as _The Phoenix_, and she led all the protests and created peace with a lot of corporations without the use of violence. When the new leader took control and started to use violence as a way to fight back, she tried to convince him to reconsider his actions. After a few days, she left, bringing a lot of the White Fang members with her, who still believed in gaining equality through peaceful actions, not violence. I was one of the members who left after she did, but I never saw her after that. She just…disappeared."

Blake glanced at the people in front of her and said one last thing, "No one ever knew her real name, or what kind of faunus she was. I only knew her as _The Phoenix_. Just a false name and a face. I wish I could've gotten to know her more."

Xera was trying to hide a genuine smile, but the cat-faunus noticed his attempts, "Xera, what are you smiling about?"

"It's…just…the same person told me about the dragons as well." Xera stated, shifting in his seat a little.

"So, you both met this _Phoenix_ lady and she told you guys a story about dragons." Yang asked, looking at the two in front of her.

"Blake may have met her in the White Fang, but I knew her for my entire life. Her name was Leona Stark…my mother." Xera stated, reminiscing in his memories.

***Gasp!***

"Nora, there's no need to be so dramatic." Ren said, giving Nora an annoyed look.

"Sorry, the story was _really_ getting interesting." She defended, giving an apologetic smile.

Xera gave an amused smile and further explained, "My mother told me a story about how she met a dragon, years before I was born. She was mountain climbing deep within the wilderness of Vytal, and she was walking across a pathway above a deep gorge when she was ambushed by beowolves…"

***Gasp!***

"Shhhh, quiet Nora. I'm trying to listen." Ruby whispered as she continued to look at Xera with extreme interest.

"But, it wasn't me." Nora responded.

"Sorry, it was me this time, come on Xera…continue with the story." Skyla spoke, feeling a bit guilty.

Xera grinned a little at his friend's antics, "As I was saying, she was ambushed and pushed back to the edge of the gorge. With eminent doom in sight, she took up a fighting stance and tried to defend herself against the group of Grimm. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. When one of the last few beowolves was about to lunge at her…a large shadow flew from the peak of the mountain top and crashed down onto the remaining Grimm, killing them and saving my mom. That was when she met Vulderak…the dragon you saw last night."

"Why did he come to the docks last night, though? I thought he wanted to live in peace and avoid violence?" Rex asked, absent-mindedly plucking strings on his guitar.

"I'm not sure about that just yet. All I know is that _I_ was the reason why he showed up. I don't know why, but apparently…I hold some sort of power that I don't even know about yet." Xera explained.

"Guys, class is starting in 10 minutes. We should get going." Weiss informed, getting up along with team JNPR.

"Yeah, we'll see you guys later. Thanks for informing us about all this, Xera." Ren stated as he walked towards the door.

"Ooooo, I loved that story. There was a plot-twist and everything!" Nora exclaimed as she followed Ren.

"We'll see you guys at lunch." "Yeah, and thanks for filling us in too." Pyrrha and Jaune said as they left as well.

"Come on sis, we should get to class. See you later guys." Yang said as she got up with Ruby.

"You're mom sounds like a really cool person, Xera. I wish I could meet her." Ruby said as she stood.

"Yeah…you would have loved her. Everyone did." He responded.

Ruby and Yang left the room, leaving just team XSRA and Blake behind in the lounge.

"I remember you saying something to Vulderak about Leona. Is she not around anymore?" Blake asked after her team and team JNPR left.

"She died years ago…it's okay Blake. It's all in the past now, don't worry about it." Xera responded in a reassuring tone.

"I'm sorry. I just wish…I could've gotten to know her."

"Yeah, she sounds really sweet. I wish I met her at some point." Skyla said, giving Xera a sympathetic look.

"Sorry to hear man. It means a lot to know that you trust us enough to say something like that." Rex added, looking up from his guitar at Xera.

Xera looked at Allix, she had tears running down her cheeks. "Allix, are you okay?" He asked, causing her to look at him with watery eyes.

"It's nothing, my parent passed away when I was little, so I know where you're coming from Xera. You're story just reminded me of them." Allix said, reassuring him that she was okay.

"Alright, sorry to hear that you had family pass away too. You guys should head to class before you're late." Xera said, motioning toward the rest of his team.

"What about you, you're going to be late if you stay any longer." Skyla asked.

"I'll be right behind you guys. Just go on ahead."

Skyla nodded as she walked out of the lounge, Allix and Rex followed soon after, leaving Blake and Xera last to leave the room and head to class.

"I'm sorry if this brought up any bad memories for you Xera." Blake said as she got up.

"It's fine, we should really be getting to class though." Xera stated, standing up as well.

"See you later Blake. It's good to know that you met my mother before and I'm glad you found some answers about who she was."

"Yeah…thank you for that. I'll see you later."

The cat-faunus left the room and headed off to class. Xera sighed as he glanced toward the hallway, knowing who was standing there for the entire conversation he had with his team.

"Ozpin, you should know by now that I can sense your presence."

Ozpin stepped out from the doorway, leaning against his cane as he sipped from his trade-mark coffee mug.

"I was interested as to what you had to share." He said as he finished his sip of his beverage.

"But, you already know about my past."

"True…but Vulderak was an interesting topic."

"You heard about what happened at the docks?"

"I know everything about what happens in and out of my school. You should know that by now."

"Right…I should have guessed that you already knew about that."

"Indeed, now shouldn't you be getting to class. I believe it starts in a few minutes. I suggest you hurry." Ozpin turned and left the room, walking back to his office as Xera started making his way to his class room.

Xera walked into his first class, barely making it before the bell. He never made an effort to run even though it would have been faster.

* * *

Skyla leaned against her arm, squishing her face as she strained to stay awake during class.

_"This is borrinnnggg!"_ She thought as she slipped and face planted into the desk. She groaned and sat back up and watched the teacher move rapidly from one end of the room to the next, telling the _heroic_ story of him and a 3-headed Hydra.

Skyla glanced at Xera, half asleep leaning against the table.

"Snore. Snore. Snore. Snore. Snore." She chanted waiting for him to fall asleep and let out a monstrous snore.

"Snore already!" She shouted. Everyone stopped and stared at her after the outburst. Skyla blushed and sat back down covering her face. Xera stared at her wide eyed like she had just pulled out a knife and threatened to kill his dog.

"Oopsie?"

"Are you done yet, Skyla?" The teacher asked annoyed with how she had interrupted the lesson.

Skyla nodded quickly, her face burning a bright red.

"This is so embarrassing." She muttered under her breath, sinking deeper into her seat.

Skyla thought about all the things that could have gone wrong in those last thirty seconds when she blurted out "Snore Already" when suddenly the bell rang, sending all the students of Beacon flying into the halls towards the lunch room.

Skyla slowly packed her things, while Xera walked over and nudged her with his shoulder. "So...what was that display all about?"

"Nothing."

"Really? Shouting Snore Already! Is nothing?"

"Yes. Well, for me it is."

The teenaged boy chuckled lightly before grabbing his books.

"See you at lunch?" The brown headed girl asked, grabbing her books from the table. The boy nodded and walked out from the room.

The teen girl sighed deeply, her face still stained with red as she slowly made her way out of the large classroom and into the already abandoned halls.

_"Well...that was fun!" _She thought as she approached the cafeteria.

She joined Allix and Rex at the usual lunch table, but now teams RWBY and JNPR also sat at the table as well, all chatting about boring classes, food, random adventures, and weapons.

"Hey Skyla. You see Xera around?" Allix asked as she ate her salad. _"Does she only eat salad?"_

"Nope, he was supposed to meet us here during lunch. I'm not sure where he is right now." I responded half-heartedly, sitting down across from Allix.

"He's probably hanging out around the courtyard with that big blossom tree. He has been doing that a lot lately during lunch." Rex informed, chowing down on some chicken breasts and gravy.

"I passed through the courtyard on my way here with Nora. He wasn't there, not at that time anyway." Ren joined in.

"Oooooo…maybe he's on a super-secret spy mission and can't tell us about it because if we found out he would have to kill us!" Nora exclaimed quickly, starting in a quiet tone and ending in a half yell.

"I don't think that's the case, Nora." Pyrrha spoke up from her seat next to Jaune.

"I'm not so sure Pyrrha, Xera has been very absent lately." Jaune said as he cut up the pancake in front of him.

Skyla looked around the table at all the idly chatting teens, stopping her gaze on a certain red-cloaked girl who has been unusually quiet lately._ "I wonder what she's hiding…"_

"Hey Ruby, you've been silent lately. What's up?" Skyla asked, eyeing down the red-reaper.

Ruby jumped at the sudden question and stuttered, "N-nothing at all, see…I-I'm perfectly fine." She made a wide gesture with her arms, trying to show that she wasn't different at all.

"Oh come on sis. We all know you're hiding something. You only get this way when you holding in a secret." Yang stated, nudging Ruby with her shoulder.

"What?! I'm not hiding anything." She responded, trying to avoid all the now turned heads towards her at the lunch table.

"Come on, is it about Xera?" Skyla asked.

"Do you know what he's been up to?" Allix followed up.

"Are you his secret partner for his secret missions as a secret agent?!" Nora cheered, now holding a battery powered lamp in Ruby's face.

Ren sighed as he gently placed his hand on Nora's shoulder, "Nora, put the lamp down. This isn't an interrogation."

"Of course it is! SHE HAS TO TELL US THE CODE!" Skyla yelled as she now stood with an even bigger lamp, shining directly into the young leader's eyes.

"NO! NO, I'LL NEVER TALK!" She retorted, looking away from the bright lights.

"Oh yes you will!"

Yang grabbed hold of Ruby and started tickling her, causing her knees to buckle and choke on intense laughter, "Yang…please…st-op…ok….uncle…UNCLE…I GIVE!"

The blonde brawler relented as she released her sister, letting her recover and sit back in her chair.

"I know where Xera is and what he's doing." She started, catching a few interested glances in her sights.

She continued, "I've been seeing him a lot in the Forging room. He told me to not tell anyone because he wants his little project to be a secret. I think it's something to do with his weapons. I swear…that's all I know. Now can you please put away the lamps?"

"Okey-dokey!" "Thank you for the confession, I'll talk to the judge about shortening your sentence." Nora said proudly while Skyla took on a New York's cop accent as she took on the role of a New York Cop.

"I wonder what he's working on." Rex said, gaining interest in the conversation.

"It's probably a weapon modification." Allix guessed.

"Or a completely new weapon entirely." Blake chimed in from behind her book.

"Or maybe…he's building a BOMB!"

"Nora, I don't think Xera is a bomb expert." Ren sighed as Nora sat back down, lamp nowhere in sight.

"I'm sure he'll show us when it's done." Pyrrha interjected.

The table grew quiet for a few seconds, no conversations popping up, no comments being made, just awkward silence.

"_I hate awkward silence. Come on, think…topic topic topic. AHAH, I got one!"_ Skyla mentally cheered as she turned toward the table full of teens.

"So guys, who's ready for the upcoming October Fest!"

Nora cheered in excitement with Skyla and Ruby, everyone else just gave smiles and showed a much more dialed down version of excitement.

"I hear every street in Vale is going to be decorated." Skyla said, trying to excite her friends around the table.

"I know! There are going to be festivals, parades, dances, even candy on every street corner!" Weiss exclaimed, oddly excited about the upcoming holiday.

"Beacon's also going to have a Halloween party during the holiday. There's going to be music, punch, and dancing." Yang joined in, pumping her fist in the air.

"Eeeeeek, I can't wait!" Ruby squealed in excitement, bouncing up and down in her seat.

"I know! There's going to be so much candy and sweets and chocolate and cake and punch and…"

Nora was going on and on about different sugar oriented treats during the festival, giving Ren a look of horror as he remember the last time Nora had so much sugar.

Jaune noticed his partners expression and whispered, "Hey, you alright?"

"I have a feeling were going to need to restrain Nora somehow during the festival, you have no idea what she gets like when she eats too much sugar." He whispered back.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Nora asked, finished with her little rant about all the things she is sure she's going to eat at all the parties.

"Nothing! Just making plans for the party we're going to have in the dorm room." Jaune said as he avoided Nora's gaze.

"Oooooo, sounds like fun. Watcha plannin?!"

Jaune scratched his neck sheepishly as he tried to form an answer. Luckily, Ren spoke up noticing his leader. "We were actually going to have a big sleep over between our three teams. There will be tons of snacks and good movies too."

Jaune sighed in relief and continued eating his lunch. Eventually Nora relented her interrogation for more information about the party and continued with her meal as well.

The table chatted about the upcoming festival and talked about what they were going to do when the holiday comes up. Plans began to form, ideas came to mind, Yang even requested a game of 'spin the bottle' during the sleep over.

Lunch soon ended and everyone walked off to their next class. Each person excited in some way or another about October Fest, although most were fearful of what Yang is planning with her little 'spin the bottle' game.

* * *

**October Fest is a Holiday we're adding into our little story, just as some celebration for Halloween that's coming up. Xera is working on a little project in the forging room, its going to be awesome but will remain a secret for a little while. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of the story so far, follow if you want, we update often, **_**Favorite**_** and **_**Follow, REVIEW**_**. Enjoy your life guys, and have a good one!**

**Cya XP**


	16. Ribbon Duel and Battle of Strength

**Who's ready for a fight? Well, these next few chapters will be all the characters going through combat class with Glynda Goodwich. Let me know how everything turns out, because I'm still not sure if I can write fight scenes or not, or at least make them okay-ish. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 16: Ribbon Duel and Battle of Strength

**Skyla POV**

"Come on, Xera. Tell me!"

"Skyla…I already told you, it's a secret."

"But I _HAVE_ to know! I hate secrets!"

"Well, you'll see it when it's ready. Now remember…if you peak while I'm working on it…you no hold."

"Awwwww…but I wanna hold it." I whined as we walked down the corridors of Beacon.

I found Xera walking out of the Forge Room when lunch ended. _"Ruby was right, he's working on something in there…and I WILL see it!"_

"So what class is next?" I asked.

"Battle Strategies with Goodwich." He responded, turning down the hallway leading to the arenas.

"Oh, this should be fun. I wonder who we'll be facing." I thought out loud, teeming with excitement.

"Hey guys!" Exclaimed a deep male voice from behind us.

"Hey Rex, hi Allix. You guy's ready for some arena battles?" Xera asked, walking backwards while our two teammates jogged to catch up to us.

"You bet we are. Me and Kryptonite's arrow haven't shot anything in a while. It'll be good to train a bit." Allix stated, snuggling her black and red bow in her arms.

"Oh yeah, me and Duel-Elektro are going to shred up the competition too!" Rex exclaimed, propping his double-bladed battle ax on his shoulder, beaming proudly.

"No fair, you guys all have names for your weapons. I haven't been able to come up with one for mine yet." I pouted as we continued walking to the arena room.

"Don't worry Skyla, I'm sure you'll come up with something. If you want, we can pitch you some ideas." Xera said reassuringly.

"Nah, but thanks anyway. I need to come up with it on my own. Maybe I'll end up having a revelation in the middle of battle today and finally have a name!" I stated, getting my own hopes up.

We walked into the doors of the arena room, gazing at the giant chamber filled with bleachers and seats along every wall. There was a huge arena ring in the middle with hologram panels and a large screen up high on the far wall, probably for showing aura levels and opponents.

Turning to walk toward the rest of our class, I recognized a bunch of familiar faces, particularly two teams led by a rosy marksman and a blonde knight.

"OH MY GOSH! You guys are here too!?" Nora exclaimed as she jumped up and down, Magnhild in hand.

"You bet we are, looks like this is going to be a fun day." Xera stated as he looked at the other two teams in the large room.

"Hey Xera, Skyla, Rex and Allix, this is gonna be so much fun! I finally get to see all of you guys fight!" Ruby cheered, play-swinging Crescent Rose around as she spoke.

"Yeah, looks like we can finally see what you guys are made of." Jaune joined in.

Everyone quieted down at the sound of heels clicking, echoing throughout the room as the professor approached.

"Good evening, Students, today you will be tested on your battle techniques and fighting abilities. Please step out of the arena and take your seats in the stands. Come forward to battle when your name is called." She informed, tapping away on her scroll as she spoke.

"I wonder who's fighting first." Pyrrha spoke up as we took our seats.

"Any bets?" Rex asked, tempting the teams to place wagers on who gets called up first.

"5 Lien on Ruby." Ren said, oddly interested in gambling.

"10 Lien on Pyrrha." Weiss added.

"10 Lien on Xera!" Yang joined in.

Pretty soon everyone had placed bids on who will be going up first, some people even made some extra bets on who will follow after the first battle.

"Will Blake Belladonna and Skyla Xerious please come forward and prepare your weapons." Glynda announced, heavily disappointing most of the students in the stands who just lost their bets.

Blake set down the book she was reading and stood. I followed her down the stairs and out into the arena where we took our positions.

She held Gambol Shroud in its sheath form and I took out my blades and held them in both hands. We eyed each other down for a little while, studying each other's weapons and potential plans of attack.

"Begin!"

***Clang!***

"Woah!" I exclaimed in shock as we clashed blades.

In the blink of an eye, Blake shot forward and swung her sword. I barely had time to deflect it, let alone follow up with my own swings.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Blake moved with speed, using her semblance to shadow step and send fast swipes towards Skyla, who was dodging and weaving in between the after-images.

"You're pretty fast!" Skyla stated as she blocked another swing.

"You're not too bad yourself." Blake responded, stepping back a bit from the clash.

Skyla took this moment to shoot out her ribbons, rapping them around Blake's legs.

Blake stumbled, trying to regain her balance from the sudden attack, not expecting something like that to happen.

Skyla charged the ribbons with aura and swung as hard as she could, throwing Blake across the arena and into one of the standing columns along the perimeter.

"And she's outa here!" Skyla cheered, propping her blade on her should and used her other hand to shade her eyes, as if watching a baseball sail over the far fence and score a home run.

As the smoke was clearing, a black ribbon pierced through the cloud and flew toward Skyla, wrapping around her upper body.

"You aren't the only one with ribbons!" Blake stated as she tugged hard, sending Skyla into the ground.

Deciding to return the favor, Blake started to spin, lifting Skyla up as she twirled around using momentum and gravity to her advantage. After a few spins, she launched Skyla into the far wall at high speeds, creating a small crater of cracks.

Blake looked up at the screen, noticing that both their auras are now in the yellow.

"Oooo, you have ribbons too, Blakey. Oh this just got _so _much more fun!" Skyla cheered as she pushed herself free from the wall, glowing a light purple color.

"Trust me, the fun's just getting started!" Blake yelled back, giving off a slight black glow as well and pulling her sheath off Gambol Shroud, now duel wielding her weapon.

***Clang!***

They entered another sword grind, fiercely trying to push the other back. They followed up with a flurry of swipes and swings, constantly bouncing off each other's blades and deflecting multiple slashes.

"Here comes Thunder and Lightning!" Skyla exclaimed as she swung her blades, sending a heavy clash into Blake's weapon.

Blake stumbled back a bit from the power of the swing. Skyla noticed this and followed up immediately, "Go get em Terror and Mayhem!" She yelled, sending another heavy swipe toward Blake.

Blake quickly found her footing and used her shadow step to dodge the swipe. As Skyla missed her attack, it left her open and defenseless for just a second. Blake took advantage of this and sent a flurry of quick swipes into Skyla's side, severely draining her aura.

"Ouch Blakey, that hurt!" Skyla stated as she parried the last few swings from Gambol Shroud.

"You shouldn't have left yourself open like that." Blake responded.

Skyla looked up at the screen and noticed her aura was just barely in the red, signaling that she lost the match.

"The winner is Blake Belladonna! Please exit the arena and return to your seats." Glynda announced.

"Awww." Skyla pouted as she put away her swords.

"Hey, you did really well. Those ribbons really caught me off guard at the beginning." Blake said, placing her hand on Skyla's shoulder, reassuring her that she did great.

"Yeah, thanks Blakey. I never knew you had ribbons either, I guess we have more in common than we thought!" Skyla immediately cheered up, skipping back into the stands with Blake following behind her with an amused smile across her lips.

"Will Rex Tyro and Nora Valkyrie please step forward." Glynda stated, signaling the next two to prepare for battle.

"Well, this should be interesting." Yang commented, watching the hulking teen with spiked grey hair stand, along with the peppy pink huntress as well.

"You ready Nora? I won't go easy on you." Rex said as he walked down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, I've been wanting to battle you for like, _ever_. And now…we get to have a totally awesome showdown!" Nora exclaimed, jumping in excitement.

Rex chuckled as they entered the arena floor, going to opposite ends of the ring and preparing for their fight.

Nora pulled out Magnhild and held it so that the top of the hammer was placed on the floor, allowing her to lean against the handle. Rex propped Duel-Elektro on his right shoulder, ready to swing at any moment.

"Begin!"

***BOOM!***

Nora pulled the trigger on her hammer, sending a small concussive blast into the ground below her and sending her toward Rex, rearing back Magnhild and ready to swing.

Rex smirked and pulled back his ax, almost like he was preparing to swing it like a baseball bat. Their two massive weapons collided, sending Nora high into the air and pushing Rex back, skidding a few feet before coming to a halt.

Nora was laughing at this point, knowing that Rex did exactly what she wanted him to do. While she was in the air, she switched Magnhild into grenade-launcher form and started raining down pink explosives back toward the arena floor.

Rex dodged and weaved, but the current height advantage was definitely helping Nora as she kept firing grenade after grenade as she fell back down, landing with a hard thud and sending one last grenade toward Rex, colliding with his chest and sending him back into the wall behind him.

"Yay! Noob TUBE killcam!" Nora exclaimed as she souluted Rex, who was implanted in the wall. He grunted and pushed himself out, shifting his grip on Duel-Elektro and transforming it into crossbow form.

"I suggest you dodge." He stated simply, pulling the trigger and releasing a flurry of mini electric bolts, all colliding with the ground and the wall around Nora. She was currently taking his advice to mind, dodging and diving in every direction, trying to avoid a most certainly painful experience.

"You'll have to do better than that to hit me-" Nora was cut off as the flat side of a giant ax collided with her side, sending tumbling across the arena floor, aura now in the yellow just below green, similar to where Rex's aura was at currently.

"Glad you were distracted by the rain of lightning, you barely noticed me move up with Duel-Elektro back in ax form." Rex stated, spinning his ax in hand to show off a little.

"Cool trick, but it's time we start going a little more face to face." Nora exclaimed as she readied Magnhild and charged.

***Boom!***

A series of shock waves rocked the stadium, heavy weapons slamming into each other and bouncing off with enough force to crack the floor around them. Rex was holding his ground against Nora's random swings of her hammer, they were quick and held immense power behind every attack.

"You're really strong, you know that?" Rex commented, parrying one of her hammer slams into the ground and thrusting the tip of his ax into Nora's stomach.

Nora buckled over a bit but used the downward momentum of his parry and spun around, bringing the hammer back up and slamming into Rex's gut, sending him up into the air.

"And you're strangely durable for a tall guy with spiky hair!" She chimed as she watched Rex bounce off the ground and come to a stop.

He stood up and reared Duel-Elektro over his head, bringing it down into the ground and sending a shockwave toward Nora's feet, knocking her over and causing her to loose balance.

"You should be careful…some people can be deceiving. I may be durable…but my semblance is pure power!" Rex boomed, kneeling down and shifting his ax into crossbow form, eyes pooling in blood red and filling with rage.

A familiar high pitched humming sounded through the air, growing louder as Rex and his weapon glowed bright blue.

"Nora, get up, NOW!" Ren yelled from the stands, sensing immense amounts of aura coming from the spiked haired teen.

"**Too Late!"** Rex's voice boomed, echoing in the stadium as he released the energy built up in Duel-Elektro, sending a massive bolt of lightning toward the still stumbling Nora.

The entire arena glowed blue as the beam of lightning struck Nora, sending her through multiple columns and embedding the poor girl into the back wall. The light died down and the stadium returned to its original stature.

Rex used a ton of his aura in that attack, resulting in his levels to drop just above red, but still remaining yellow. Nora's however, were in the red.

Ren jumped down and dislodged Nora from the hole in the wall, giving her support as she stumbled. Rex ran over as well and supported her other side, helping her walk to the stands with Ren's help.

"Rex, you have to show me how you do that! That was such a cool attack, and…it was lightning, how do you create lightning!?" Nora squealed, oddly fine with losing the match and more interested in Rex's abilities.

Rex chuckled at Nora's antics and being such a good sport, "Sorry about that Nora, it was the only window I had to win the battle. And I don't think I can teach you my attack, it required an absurd amount of aura and is linked to my semblance." He said as they took their seats.

"That. Was. So. AWESOME!" Ruby squealed, beaming at the two who just fought.

"Hey, what about my battle?" Skyla asked, pouting a little.

"You were awesome too, but Rex used lightning…_LIGHTNING_!" The red-cloaked girl defended.

"I have to admit, that was very impressive." Yang added.

"I agree, how did you learn to focus that much aura?" Pyrrha asked, intrigued by the power she just witnessed.

"It's my semblance, called Undying Rage. I can flood my body with rage and increase my aura levels and power greatly. This also makes my usage of dust extra powerful and allows me to overcharge some attacks." Rex explained.

"Allix Stowe and Ruby Rose step forward. Please enter the arena and prepare for the next fight!" Glynda announced, gaining the attention of everyone again.

* * *

**AT DAWN...WE RIDE! In other words, they fight in the next chapter...along with some other head to head battles. I hope these qualify for fight scenes, and I hope some of you are enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to enjoy life, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**, have a good one guys!**

**Cya XD**


	17. Arena Destruction

**I'm introducing some extra abilities in this chapter, including a different kind of glyph. In the show, there appears to by all kinds of different glyphs that Weiss uses, so why not input some that may or may not even come up in the show. Anyway, I hope these battle are as intense as I imagined them, enjoy chapter 17!**

* * *

XSRA Flame Chapter 17: Arena Destruction

**3rd Person**

"Well, I guess you guys get to see me in action now."

"Yeah, let's go Allix. Good luck and don't hold back." Ruby said excitedly, walking into the arena with Allix.

Back up in the stands, "You know, I haven't really seen Allix fight much. She stays back and fires arrows, but that's all I've seen." Rex said, spiking some curiosity in the group.

"Come to think of it, she really hasn't showed off at all. She stays out of the fight and just watches, not even considering showing her skills." Xera added.

Jaune looked particularly anxious and turned towards the two, "Wait, so you guys haven't even seen her fight to her full ability yet?!"

"Nope, no one has!" Skyla joined in.

"Guys, the match is about to start. I'm sure you'll all see some answers soon enough." Ren interrupted, bringing everyone's attention back on the two below.

Ruby took out her scythe and twirled it around, spinning it around her body and slamming it into the ground in front of her, pointing the barrel at Allix.

Allix took a less show off approach and simply held her bow in hand, looking for any potential weak points in Ruby that she can aim for.

"Begin!"

Immediately, Ruby fired off a barrage of high impact rounds toward Allix, who side rolled and started running in a wide arc around Ruby.

Ruby kicked up her scythe and followed her target, keeping up the flurry of bullets and attempting to land a shot or two. Allix was quick, very quick, she was dodging and weaving between each shot but also keeping her distance. She was waiting…waiting for just the right time.

***Click!***

Ruby's gun clicked, signaling she was out of ammo and needed to reload. But before she could, she was immediately sent flying by a well-placed explosive arrow directly in her gut. Ruby dug her scythe into the ground to stop her from flying back too far and started running from side to side, avoiding more arrows as they flew past her body.

"Smart! You waited for me to reload, and then attacked in that window of opportunity." Ruby commented, quickly loading a new magazine into Crescent Rose as she dodged.

"You're pretty fast, I take it that speed is your semblance?"

"Yep!"

Ruby closed the gap between them in an instant, using her impact gravity rounds to move at speeds that she was no longer visible until she shot another round, changing direction.

***Clang!***

Allix held up the blade of her bow and blocked the attack, being pushed back in the process from the sheer amount of force behind it.

"Nice block, but up close…I have the upper hand!" Ruby exclaimed, spinning her scythe around her body and dealing a combo of quick slashes.

Allix was having trouble blocking all the powerful swipes, she needed to go on the offensive and push her back so she could create some distance between them. So she split her bow in two, revealing that it was also two dust engraved blades that made up her weapon.

***Clang!***

They entered another fierce clash, colliding swipes and swings. Ruby was starting to be over-whelmed by all the quick attacks Allix was using, thanks to her duel weapons compared to Ruby's bigger and slower scythe.

Ruby thought quickly and shot another gravity round into the ground, launching her into the air where she fired another round, sending her back a few feet and gaining distance.

Allix smirked a bit, knowing that Ruby did exactly as she wanted. Without a second thought, Allix sent a barrage of arrows into the air, raining down all kinds of dust arrows into Ruby's position.

Ruby was knocked around by all the different elemental explosions, dropping her aura into the yellow before she sped out of the danger zone, escaping the rain of arrows.

"That was so cool!" Ruby exclaimed as she fired shots at Allix, colliding with her chest and sending her into the wall behind her.

"Nice…shot…too bad…that's the only shot you'll land." Allix said, pushing herself off the wall and weaving around the pillars.

Ruby started shooting in rapid succession, blowing up the pillars as Allix ran through them. Allix jumped through the debris of the falling rubble only to be met by a wide slash from Crescent Rose.

Both girl's aura's were now in the yellow, causing Allix to be slightly more cautious now that she can lose at any moment.

Ruby however, was as reckless as ever. Speeding her way around and clashing with Allix, sending them into another battle of swords and blades.

Ruby was starting to gain the upper-hand through sheer strength, pushing the archer back toward the center of the arena and causing her to remain on the defensive.

This was when Ruby decided to test out her new move she's been working on. She held her scythe to her body and spanned it out as wide as she could, and started running at full speed around the still recovering Allix.

"What are you…oh no." Allix started to feel the wind pick up as she watched Ruby speed around her in a blur of rose petals.

A tornado started to form at Allix's feet, causing her to be lifted into the air a bit and losing all sense of direction. The tornado continued to grow and lift her into the air, spiraling in the center of the stadium.

Ruby jumped into her storm of rose petals and used her cloak to glide her way around the rushing winds, positioning herself above the flailing archer.

She put all her strength into one final swing, surly ending this battle and taking victory. Ruby slammed the butt of her scythe into Allix's back, sending her flying back down into the arena floor creating a huge shockwave and forming a large crater.

As the wind died down, Ruby landed and took a look up at the screen.

"What, how is she still in the yellow!?"

Allix slowly stood from the crater she found herself to be in, glowing red with energy.

"I used my aura to reduce the damage, now I have just enough to end this!"

In an instant, Allix leaped backward creating as much distance as she could between Ruby and her, while sending a few binding arrows into the red reaper, pinning her in place and stopping her from any movement.

"You said you wanted to see my power?!"

Allix burst with red aura, flickering in every direction and only getting brighter. She reconnected her bow and took a stance, feet firmly planted on the ground and bow held out in front of her. The red energy engulfed her bow and created a huge red glyph in front of the archer.

The red aura around her weapon started to expand, taking the shape of a giant copy of Kryptonite's Arrow that floated in front of her, merging with the glyph.

"This is the end, good match…RUBY ROSE!"

The glyph spun at blinding speeds, glowing brighter and brighter as it spun faster. The giant bow flickered with energy and sent a surge of dust toward the still trapped Ruby, taking the form of a giant red arrow.

Blinding light filled the arena as the energy collided into the body of the immobilized teen, creating a huge shockwave from the impact and propelling her into the wall at insane speed. The impact shook the stadium and cracked the ground beneath Allix from the sheer force of her attack.

"The winner is Allix Stowe!" Glynda announced, revealing that Ruby's aura was now in the red.

Allix ran over toward the still embedded Ruby, pulling her from the wall. Yang and Weiss also ran in and helped the scythe wielder back to the stands.

"That was a good match Ruby. I usually don't have to use that much effort in my battles. You are definitely a worthy opponent." Allix commented, causing Ruby to blush a little from the praise.

"Thank you, and that was an awesome technique! Do you think you can teach me, maybe I can do that with Crescent Rose at some point." Ruby asked weakly, sitting down next to Weiss back in her seat.

Allix chuckled a little, "Sure Ruby, I can teach you. I'm certain that Weiss has taught you a few things about glyph casting before?"

"Yes, in fact I have taught her a speed glyph. However, she never really uses it too much." Weiss said, poking Ruby in her side as she made that comment.

"But it takes too long to cast! Besides, I can just use my semblance to-"

"Ruby! You know that the glyph can make your speed even faster if you use your semblance at the same time!" Weiss interrupted, annoyed at her young leader.

Xera nudged Allix's shoulder, getting the archer's attention, "That was a dust enhancing glyph, but how did you get it to be so powerful?."

"You're very observant, but it has to do with how fast the caster can spin the glyph. I'll tell you about it another time, but for now…I think you're about to be called up to fight." Allix responded, gesturing toward Glynda getting ready to call for the next pair.

"Yang Xiao Long and Xera Stark, please step forward and prepare your weapons." The professor announced, causing all conversations to stop.

"Looks like it's me and you, Xera, are you ready to become my personal punching bag?" Yang taunted, poking fun at the guy in green next to her.

"I'll be happy to oblige, but it's too bad that you're too slow to hit me." He responded, giving the blonde brawler a playful nudge.

"Oh, feisty! I like it, let's see what you can do against someone like me!" Yang retorted, walking down the stairs and into the arena, followed by Xera.

They took their positions and waited for the match to start. Xera stood in a stance with Annivia's Talons in both hands, ready for anything the blonde brawler will throw at him. Yang extended Ember Celica into gauntlet form and slammed her fists together, causing her hair to fly back a bit from the impact.

"Begin!"

Yang release a flurry of dust flares at Xera, who promptly dodged them and weaved through the attacks, running as the floor was being shredded behind him.

Xera reared back his arm and launched one of his boomerangs high into the air, causing the brawly to look at him in confusion and halt her assault for a second.

"Ha, I think you missed there buddy. That thing's going to sail clean over my head!"

While Yang was distracted, Xera chucked his second boomerang straight into the ground, sending it deep into the floor of the arena.

He then stood and waited, watching as Yang stood and glared at him, "Are you throwing the match?"

Just as she spoke, a blade erupted from the ground beneath Yang's feet, slashing upward and sending her into the air, directly into the flight path of the first boomerang. As she flailed around and tried to regain her bearings, she was slashed across the side and was sent tumbling back down to the ground from Xera's weapon.

"I never hold back!" Xera exclaimed, catching his blades and waiting for Yang to recover.

"Oh, you're so going to pay for that!"

Immediately, Yang shot behind her and lunged toward Xera, only to fly straight through his body and tumble to the ground behind him. The hologram faded and Xera appeared next to the downed Yang, dealing a flurry of quick slashes into her body before backing away.

She got up with a grunt, feeling irritated at Xera's tactics. "Come on, why don't _you_ fight me head on!"

"Nope, if I do, it would be suicide to try to face you like that!" Xera responded, switching Annivia's Talons into shotgun form and chambering a round in each.

"Then I'll just have to force you to fight me!"

Yang lunged again, this time making contact with Xera's body, creating a small shock wave from the impact. But Xera didn't take the blunt of the hit, one of his shotguns took the blow while the other was positioned under it, shooting a gravity round into Yang's gut.

She was sent flying up into the air, but thinking quickly she shot a barrage of flares back down toward Xera as she descended. A couple of them hit there mark and sent Xera tumbling backward.

Shooting more rounds, she propelled herself forward and delivered a devastating punch into Xera's stomach, sending him into a few pillars behind him.

"Yep…that…one…hurt." Xera mumbled as he got back up, only to quickly block another punch directed at his head.

"You can definitely take a hit, but can you handle more?!"

With that, Yang sent a barrage of kicks and punches at Xera, who was switching between blade and shotgun mode, parrying all her attacks. He used his shotgun rounds to negate her explosive punches and the blades to redirect the others.

"Nice try, but I'm faster than I look!" Xera exclaimed, slashing across Yang's side.

Yang seemed to be punching even harder now, her hair was flickering slightly with yellow flames.

"No way, are you absorbing my attacks and making that power your own?!" Xera asked, now halting his attack and retreating, realizing what was going on.

"Oh, you realized, huh? Well, it's too late now!"

Yang slammed her fists together, but this time, she sent a fiery shockwave out and every strand of her hair blazed yellow. Her eyes turned red and she charged Xera at lightning speeds, sending a flurry of over-powered punched into the blocking teen.

Xera was being pummeled, he used deception to open a window and made a wide slash at Yang, sending her back a bit from the impact.

He was happy to create a little distance…until both Yang and Xera noticed a strand of yellow hair drop to the floor between them.

"Uh oh-"

"You…you…**YOU MONSTER!"**

Yang exploded in white fire, glowing bright with energy and aura. She planted her foot into the ground and cracked it with the impact, eyes now appearing to be blazing red. Yang charged Xera, creating a crater in the floor behind her as she pushed off, hurtling toward the still weak teen.

"This is going to hurt." Xera mumbled as he stumbled, trying to get out of the way.

***BOOM!***

The entire stadium erupted in fire, filling the arena floor in smoke. Gasps could be heard from the stands and Glynda was interested in what the outcome of the fight was. She was about to call Yang the victor until she stopped herself as the smoke cleared.

Xera stood where he was, one hand clenched around Yang's flaming fist and the other was gripping his boomerangs.

Just at the moment of impact, Xera's aura fluctuated and spiked, reading levels of almost 170% just for an instant before dropping back down into the green. The spike of energy completely negated Yang's attack.

"I don't know what just happened, but I like it." Xera stated as he shifted his grip, releasing Yang's fist and grabbing both his shotguns.

In a split second, he pressed both barrels into Yang's gut and fired, sending her tumbling high into the air. Xera channeled some aura into his legs and leaped upward, meeting Yang in the air and shifting Annivia's Talons back into their blade form.

He delivered a flurry of slashes, spinning and flipping to make his strikes even more powerful. Annivia's Talons were blazing with fire, sending explosions of flames with every swing. Yang was flailing around from the powerful attacks, spinning uncontrollably and somehow being hit from every direction, but she couldn't do anything about it.

As Xera started to fall back down with Yang, he flipped forward, catching Yang's side in the curve of his boomerangs and pulling her down. He flipped forward at high speeds, and as he was about to hit the ground, he lunged his weapons forward with Yang still attached, sending her straight into the ground and completely destroying the arena floor.

The stadium shook as the ground cracked beneath Yang, a shock wave surged from the impact and imploded as it hit the surrounding walls, crushing whatever pillars remained and forming major cracks in every wall.

"And the winner is Xera Stark!" Glynda proclaimed, furiously typing away at her scroll trying to figure out how Xera was able to pull that much aura out of nowhere.

Xera extended his hand toward Yang, who graciously accepted it. He pulled her up and they walked back towards the stands.

"That was a good match Xera. I didn't know you had it in you to block something like that, especially when I get _that_ mad. I can't wait for round 2. I'm definitely going to beat you down next time." Yang commented as they returned to their seats.

"You probably will, but I have no idea where that power came from. It just felt like something surged inside me and gave me more aura." Xera responded, sitting down next to his team.

"Maybe it has something to do with what Vulderak said at the docks." Blake suggested, wondering how much power Xera could be containing within himself.

"I'm not sure, but let's not think about it for now." Xera stated, pushing away any possible questions that may have come up.

"Class is dismissed! The arena is no longer usable, so you have the rest of the day to yourselves. Good battling today students, you gave it your all." Glynda announced, slightly annoyed that the arena got damaged during all the fights.

The three teams left the arena and were brainstorming ideas on what they could do with their free time. Eventually bumping into a certain monkey-faunus as he wandered aimlessly around the halls, joining them since he wasn't doing much else today anyway. They decided to head down into Vale and boarded the first air ship out of Beacon, idly chatting about what happened in the arena as they flew toward the city.

* * *

**Halloween is closing in, so that means October Fest in this story will also be coming up, so you can expect something to happen in this story. Let me know what you guys think, I'm trying not to make my OC's too overpowered. So I am going to add a lot more abilities to the canon characters, giving them a buff or something like that to even them out with the others. Ruby's tornado was actually inspired by ****Black Fuego****, so go check his stories out. I can't believe how detailed and well thought out his series are, they're insanely good. Anyway, **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**, have a good one guys!**

**Cya**


	18. Café Royal with a Secret Musician

**October Fest is coming up, and the next chapter should be up on Friday, which is in 2 days. Hopefully you guys like that, I won't spoil anything because that's just mean. Enjoy the chapter guys!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 18: Café Royal with a Secret Musician

**Skyla's POV**

Rex, Allix, Xera, Team RWBY, JNPR, and I all headed back to the café where team XSRA and JNPR first officially met. We took up a large section of the café. Almost more than half of it considering its size! I almost felt bad for the one worker there having to take care of 12 people. Almost….

"Hi, I'll have a caramel hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and peppermint shavings." I said, leaning against the counter. The guy glared at me briefly before walking away.

He looked nice…not quite handsome and not quite hideous. I picked up a straw and played with it for a bit, tearing up the paper into little bitty confetti pieces.

The guy came back and glared at me once again seeing the mess I made. "Are you going to clean that up?" he asked curtly.

"This?" I asked motioning to the paper scraps.

"Yeah."

I scooped it up into my hands and walked off towards the table holding my drink in the other hand and took a seat beside Xera, who was happily drinking his coffee. I casually leaned back and held my enclosed fist above his head before shortly releasing the confetti above his head shouting at the top of my lungs, "PARTY!"

I leaned too far back and ended up falling off my chair and onto my butt. I burst into a loud laughter along with everyone else who witnessed what happened, even Xera who still had white speckles in his black hair.

Rex suddenly coughed bringing everyone's attention from my burning face to him.

"I can pick Ren up while he's still in his seat!"

Ren almost spit out his coffee at the mention of his name but couldn't react quickly enough. Rex suddenly picked his chair up with him still sitting on top of it high above his head.

"TADA!" He shouted losing his balance for a moment. Just enough to tilt the chair making Ren slide off it and onto the ground.

"That's okay. I like the floor." He said sitting on the ground.

We all laughed out loud again followed by another glare by the clerk.

"If you don't quiet down I will have to kick all of you out!" He threatened.

And this is when I stopped feeling bad for him. I stood on top of my chair and belted out the loudest lyrics I could manage.

**~ "I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!" ~**

**~ "Don't you ever say I just walked away I will always love you." ~** I whispered watching the man slowly back away as I left the room in an eerie silence.

I took in a deep breath.

**~ "I CAME IN LIKE A WREEECCKKIINNGG BALL! I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD HIT THE WALL SO HARD! ALL YOU EVER DID WAS WRECK ME! YOU WRECKED ME!" ~** I shouted at the top if my lungs throwing my arms up into the air.

"That's it! Get out!" He shouted angrily pointing at the door.

"Fine!" I said getting down. "Your hot chocolate was watery anyways!" I said pushing through the front entrance only stopping to briefly look back and shout "AND YOU FORGOT THE PEPPERMINT SHAVINGS!"

We all exited the café and slowly made our way through the streets of Vale thinking of what we're going to do now.

"So….I saw a new Café open up down the street. You down?" Rex asked.

"Ohhh! I saw that!" Ruby shouted excitedly.

"Hey I did too. I saw it earlier after the arena!" Yang added with a fist pump.

"I also saw it on my way through town, it should be open right about now." Sun added.

"Speaking of the arena…what happened there?" I asked referring to Allix and some others.

"Yeah! With Allix and that glyph!" Ruby added.

"Like Weiss?"

"Almost." Allix chuckled.

* * *

**Xera POV**

"Weiss uses a more…elemental approach when it comes to glyphs. Allix used a dust enhancing one, so the glyph itself doesn't actually generate its own dust." I informed.

"Yes, that is true. But I use more than just elemental glyphs." Weiss huffed, crossing her arms as we walked.

We turned the corner and found the newly opened café. Upon walking in, a bell jingled signaling that costumers had just entered.

"Hello! Welcome to Café Royal, home of all coffee combinations and more!"

A chirpy bartender exclaimed as we all filed through the door.

"My name is Anna, how can I help you?" She asked, gesturing us to come up to the counter.

The girl was our age, about 17 and was a fox faunus. Two brown fox ears poked up out of her ginger-hair, which extended a little past her shoulders. She owned a pair of bright crimson eyes and wore a skin tight, white, sleeveless top underneath a light brown leather jacket, a small orange battle skirt and white boots that go a little below the knees.

"Sweet, I love these kinds of places." Sun exclaimed.

"So…you have anything and everything?!" Skyla asked, teeming with excitement.

"Yup!"

Skyla gasped and ran up to the counter, "In that case, I'll have a caramel hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and peppermint shavings!?"

"Skyla, I don't think that qualifies as coffee." Pyrrha spoke up, but the girl paid no attention to the Spartan warrior as Anna started going to work preparing Skyla's request.

"Here you go! Now…who's next?"

Skyla gladly took her hot chocolate, paid, and raced off to one of the round tables.

Everyone ordered their own drinks, some of them I never even heard of and some were all too common but with a little twist. It didn't matter what we ordered, the girl behind the counter prepared and served every request we threw at her, even Weiss's odd request that sounded as if it came from a random foreign island off the Coast of Ebony Island.

"Thank you for the drinks, by the way, are you the owner of this café? I asked as I paid for mine.

"Yes, and it's new here. My parents were merchants and always had a knack for Cafés." Anna responded.

"_Were…they were merchants. I don't see them around anywhere, but there are a few pictures of them on the back shelf." _I thought as she finished putting away my money.

"Well, I'm glad Café Royal has such amazing service. Again, thank you for everything and have a good one." I gave her a warm smile and started to walk off.

"You too!" Anna called out behind me as I walked toward my friends.

Rex was currently trying to balance both Nora and Skyla on his shoulders, both of which were also in their chairs and were currently flailing their arms trying to keep their balance.

"See…I…told you…I could do it!" Rex exclaimed.

"Nicely done." Ren said, pulling out 15 lien.

Rex gently placed Skyla and Nora back down and grabbed the newly earned money from Ren.

"Thanks you for this, and next time…think _bigger_." The grey haired teen said as he returned to his seat.

I sat down next to Blake and sipped my cappuccino.

"Sooooo…what are you reading?"

The cat-faunus looked up from her book, "It's about a boy with white hair. He possessed immense power, enough power to kill a god. His name is Dante, and he used all his power up defeating a powerful foe and is now training to become a warrior. He was banished with no power left and is currently fighting off some sort of dark force with the help of his friends."

"Oh, I read that too, although I'm still waiting for the next book to be released in the series." I said.

"Really, what did you think?" Blake asked, interested to find a fellow fan of one of her favorite authors.

"Well, I loved it. Especially a lot of the origins series, those were amazing."

"I loved those books too, the way he wrote about Dante's past was just genius. I couldn't stop reading." She exclaimed, almost reaching the point of a fan girl.

"Haha, yeah. I know what you mean, Andy really knows how to write his works." I stated, taking another sip of my drink.

Blake closed her book and slid it over toward Xera for him to read the title, "Check this out."

I read the title and my eyes widened, "No way! You got the next book in the series, it's not even supposed to be released for another month!"

"The book store I go to has a way of stocking up on the popular books, and even ships new orders in before they come out publically." She said, pulling the book back into her grasp.

"Really, what's it called?"

"Tukson's Book Trade, it's my favorite book store."

"Sweet, I'll be sure to check it out some time. I need to get myself a copy." I responded, interested in finding this new book store.

"I'll take you there some time, Tukson knows me, and I'm sure he can get you one of the new copies." Blake said, putting the book into her bag.

We finished our drinks and waved goodbye to Anna, she wished us good well and we walked out the front doors. Everyone content on returning here, making Café Royal our new 'go to' hang out.

"So, who wants to go to the music store?" Rex asked.

"Sure, I'll go." I said.

Sun, Allix, Blake, Skyla, Pyrrha, and Jaune all joined Rex and I.

"We're going to head back to Beacon, we need to help prep for October Fest." Ruby stated, gesturing towards Weiss, Yang, Ren and Nora.

"Alright, we'll see you guys tonight." Jaune called out as we turned our separate ways.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Team XSRA, Sun, Blake, Pyrrha and Jaune all headed towards the music store.

They entered and browsed the aisles, looking at all the different instruments displayed across the walls and glass counters.

"So, do you play?" Blake asked Xera as he picked up a guitar.

"I have a little skill in the music department." He responded.

"Can you play something for us?" Skyla asked.

Xera looked up and noticed all of his friends staring at him in anticipation, there were other costumers in the store as well but he didn't mind a small audience…especially if it's just for his friends.

"Sure, why not."

Xera started strumming the strings on the guitar, deftly switching notes and playing with the beat he set with his tapping foot. His seemingly expert knowledge of the guitar was surprising, but what caught everyone off guard was that Xera started to sing along.

**~ We wake up by the sunrise, ~**

**And you're staring back at me.**

…

**I hold on to the moment,**

**As we cast it out to sea.**

…

**And the lights come on…the lights come on,**

**Reflecting off your skin.**

…

**So burning stars…are all we are,**

**Ignited from within.**

…

**It's your heart and soul,**

**It's your flesh and bones,**

**Don't you let it go-o-o!**

…

**You're the star I'll find,**

**Bursting through my sky,**

**Taking all control!**

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**~ (Instrumental) ~**

Xera started playing through the instrumental part of the song, as he played his aura started to do one of the most bizarre things. Every time he strummed a tune, the string would glow like an ember in a fire, every note that was played would send small tendrils of orange light, like a fire flickering in the night.

Not only were his friends enjoying the music, but every costumer walked over and listened in. Pretty soon, people from outside the store filed in and a small crowd started to form in front of Xera as he played.

**~ It's your heart and soul, ~**

**It's your flesh and bones,**

**Don't you let it go-o-o!**

…

**You're the star I'll find,**

**Bursting through my sky,**

**Taking all control!**

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**If you're lost, I will pull you,**

**From the places that you seek.**

…

**Fly away from the darkness,**

**To a paradise we dreamed.**

…

**And the lights still shine,**

**The lights still shine,**

**Reflecting off our skin.**

…

**So burning stars…are all we are,**

**Igniting from within.**

…

**It's your heart and soul,**

**It's your flesh and bones,**

**Don't you let it go!**

…

**You're the star I'll find,**

**Bursting through my sky,**

**Taking all control!**

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**(Another Instrumental)**

…

**We'll be shining…we'll be shining,**

**We'll be shining tonight.**

…

**It's your heart and soul,**

**It's your flesh and bone,**

**Don't you let it go-o-o!**

…

**You're the star I'll find,**

**Bursting through my sky,**

**Taking all control!**

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**It's your heart and soul!**

…

**We'll be shining…we'll be shining,**

**We'll be shining tonight.**

…

**We'll be shining…we'll be shining,**

**~ We'll be shining tonight. ~**

As Xera finished strumming the last few notes on his guitar, he looked up and noticed the crowd. He got so absorbed into the music that he didn't even realize the new people who gathered around him, about 40 or so people were packed into the music store.

Most of them were already holding out pens and various objects for him to sign.

Xera noticed this and as he plucked the last note of his guitar, he spun it around and placed it against the floor, leaned against it and saluted the crowd. This confirmed a lot of their suspicions and proved that they knew who this guy was. This also left all Xera's friends with baffled expressions as they looked in awe at their usually reserved friend.

But before anything happened, the base of Xera guitar started to glow red and started to spin. Xera spun his instrument and created a thick, harmless smoke screen for him to grab his friends and escape through the back, leaving the guitar balancing where he once stood.

"So…that was a thing." He said as he guided his friends out of the alley.

Silence…

"Ummm…guys?"

"OH. MY. GOSH! You were amazing!" Skyla exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

"When you said you could play, I'd never have guessed that you were actually _that_ skilled!" Rex stated.

"Holy Crap, you're him!" Jaune said, pointing an accusing finger at Xera.

"I…Never thought I would ever meet you…let alone become your friend!" He continued.

Xera face palmed a bit, realizing he was in the presence of a fan.

"I listened to _all_ of your music, back when you still played. You had like, 14 record deals offered to you and you turned them all down! Not even a second thought!" Jaune exclaimed.

"What can I say, I just played for personal reasons. No need to gain any money off of it." Xera responded.

"What do you mean by personal reasons?" Blake asked.

Xera sighed a bit and gave them the answer, "It was just a way of coping, you know, to help me get through my family's death."

"Oh…I'm sorry I asked."

"No worries, it actually really helped. I posted music for a few years before I started training to become a huntsman. I had one final release and then disappeared." Xera said.

Everyone continued down the sidewalk and started heading back to Beacon.

"So…what was your name? It obviously wasn't your real name." Allix asked.

"I went by XnS, simple as that." Xera responded.

"And it was the coolest name ever! I was obsessed with it for a while." Jaune said.

Sun split off from the group, calling back something about finding Neptune.

"See ya around Sun, thanks for hanging out!" Xera yelled as Sun ran off.

"We should get some sleep, October Fest is tomorrow and we have to be up early to set up a few stands in the morning." Pyrrha informed.

"Right, let's head back then." Jaune stated.

"We'll come too." Rex said.

"I'll head back as well, might as well since you're all going." Blake added.

Everyone headed back to the Beacon Airship and boarded the vessel, taking off back to the academy. All of them excited for October Fest tomorrow.

* * *

**There we go, chapter 18 done! I introduced a new character, she may come in here and there, maybe even join Beacon...you just never know with these things. October Fest is in 2 days, so...you have that to look forward to. Anyway, have a good one guys, enjoy life, and **_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW**_**...all is appreciated.**

**...**

**Song: 'Heart and Soul' - Built by Titan**

**Story Reference: 'Hero of Remnant' - By andy2396 (Believe me when I say, this guy's story is amazing. I seriously enjoyed reading what he has and he just keeps updating! Its insane(ly) awesome! Go check him out.)**

**Cya**


	19. October Fest has Arrived!

**Happy Halloween! Yeah...so this is a thing, and this is the longest chapter I've ever written...so far.**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 19: October Fest has Arrived!

**3rd Person**

A cool breeze rushed over Vale, whisking away fallen leaves all along the streets of the city. The sun peaked over the horizon as a new day awakened, greeting Vytal to a new holiday, a day of celebration. Almost all of the students of Beacon were sound asleep, enjoying whatever hours they have before festivities start…except for one, particularly energetic student. She stood before her sleeping team, panning her gaze across their dorm room.

Their two windows let in the first rays of the sun, racing across the bed sheets and causing a few of the team members to stir in their sleep. This was it…that was the signal. The Festival has officially started and there was no way they were going to miss a single minute of it. After all, it is October Fest.

She pulled out her black, twin katanas and gripped the handles, holding them out to her sides at arm's length. Her grip tightened as she pulsed her aura into the dangling ribbons below the hilts of her blades, causing them to come alive and slowly glide across the floor of the room, gradually approaching the three remaining teens.

The purple ribbons climbed each bed and gripped onto the blankets, ready to yank them away at any second…but first, she approached the window. As she slid the window up, she felt the cool air rush into the dorm room, a gentle breeze rustling her hair as she took in a deep breath. Without another thought, she yanked her ribbons.

***Thump!***

* * *

**Xera POV**

I woke up to the sound of something big and heavy hitting the floor and my blanket being ripped from my grasp.

Opening my eyes, I noticed Rex on the floor with a ribbon wrapped around his leg and Allix shaking while hugging herself and trying to reach for her warm blanket.

"Wakey Wakey guys! It's October Fest!" Skyla cheered as she retracted her ribbons from everyone.

"Why couldn't you have woken us up gently, not freeze us to death?!" Allix questioned, frantically covering herself with her toasty blanket, immediately feeling comfortable again.

"Awwww, but where's the fun in _that_?" She answered.

The two girls went quiet as they heard someone snoring, they both turned towards me but quickly realized that I was awake. Their gaze turned to a certain spiked-haired tank laying on the ground, face buried into the floor.

***Snore***

"Why is he on the floor?" Allix questioned.

I cleared my throat and gained the archer's attention, "Skyla pulled him out of bed with her ribbon, but apparently he's still asleep." I informed.

Skyla, realizing that she accidently pulled Rex out of bed instead of his blanket, hid her swords behind her back and kicked the floor sheepishly.

"I didn't mean to, I aimed for the blanket." She whined.

"Relax, he's still asleep so no harm done. Now wake him up, we need to get ready." I stated.

I got out of bed and took a shower, changed and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Xera, Rex, go wake up the other teams while we get ready." Skyla said, digging through the closet for something to wear.

Rex and I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door. We both stepped up to different rooms, Rex stood in front of team RWBY's dorm and I took the liberty of waking up team JNPR.

Raising my fist, I knocked on the door. After a few seconds, I heard shuffling from the inside and the turning of the lock. The door opened revealing a slouching teen with blonde hair and bunny slippers.

"Wha-" He interrupted himself with a yawn before continuing, "What's with the early wakeup call?"

"Skyla wants everyone to wake up now so we can start the festivities down in Vale." I answered.

Jaune shifted and leaned against the door frame, pondering what the most logical thing to do would be. "Alright, I'll wake my team up. We'll be ready soon."

The door closed and I looked over toward Rex, as soon as I saw him I burst into a fit of laughter.

"Dude…Rex…What happened!?"

Rex was half-frozen in a block of ice. He turned toward me and uttered one word, "Weiss."

"Oh…that makes sense. I guess she's not much of a morning person." I got a hold of myself and stopped my laughing fit. I melted the ice off of Rex and we waited for the rest of our friends to get ready.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Pretty soon everyone was ready, team's RWBY and JNPR all stood in the lounge along with team XSRA.

"So who's ready for candy, and sugar, and soda, and all things sweet?!" Nora exclaimed, already excited for all the possibilities down in Vale.

"Oh oh oh oh, I can't wait for candy! You have no idea, if you think I'm energetic now…just wait until I feast on all sorts of candy!" Skyla stated, jumping up and down.

"I know right, you guys are going to have to hold me down because there's no way I won't be bouncing off the walls today, literally!" Nora added, jumping with her energetic friend.

Ren shot a knowing glance at Rex and Jaune, the two teens nodded their understanding and stood up.

Before anyone else knew what was going on, the two energetic girls were tackled to the ground. A flurry of ropes flew everywhere as the three boys attempted to tie up the potential life ruining causes of the day.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" Skyla yelled, struggling under Jaune as Ren tied her up.

"THERE'S NO WAY I WON'T BE GETTING MY CANDY! DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU'LL PAY FOR THI-" Nora was cut off as Ren tied her up as well.

"I'm sorry Nora, but you are far too dangerous when you have a sugar high. Do you remember the last October Festival we went to?" Ren said, giving Nora and Skyla an apologetic stare.

"Of course I remember! That guy tried to steal my candy so I threw him through a couple buildings, nothing big." The bubbly bomber responded, disappointed that she won't get her candy.

"Oh you should have seen what I did to this one guy who took my kit-kat. Luckily he somehow ended up crashing through the wall to the emergency room!" Skyla stated.

"And that is why you're tied up too. Sorry Skyla, but it's for the best." Rex said.

Soon, the two teens where placed back in a dorm room with food and drinks but every exit was barricaded from the outside, permanently stuck in there until they were let out.

The rest of the teens boarded the air ship and headed off to Vale, ready for whatever the day has in store for them.

* * *

**Xera POV**

We landed and walked off the vessel, taking in the amazing sights of Vale as we approached the city. Every street was decorated with colors and flags, windows hung banners out and people flooded the streets. Every store had October Fest decorations up in their windows and were giving out free candy for the festival.

"This is so cool!" Ruby exclaimed, dashing to the first store to grab some candy.

"Ruby! Calm down!" Weiss called as she ran after the cloaked girl.

We spent most of the time walking the streets of Vale, enjoying the different decorations and occasionally stopping to snack on some sweets that different bakeries offered for the festival.

"You guys want to head to the city park, I hear the trees there are beautiful at this time of year." Pyrrha suggested.

"Sure, I'm in." Jaune said.

"Why not." I added, joining them.

Everyone decided to tag along as we started to head off towards the park. That was until I noticed that Rex was gone.

"Hey, has anyone seen Rex?" I asked as we walked.

"Nope, he must have walked off somewhere." Allix answered.

I just shrugged and continued walking, but I could sense that something was happening behind me.

Turning around, I noticed that a second person was missing, "Where's Jaune?"

"Huh, I swear he was just here a moment ago." Pyrrha said.

An eerie breeze blew through the street and the sky darkened a bit, signaling that is was starting to get dark. The shadows seemed to becoming increasingly darker as well, even _I_ couldn't see into the alley ways.

"He probably got distracted by something." Ruby said.

"_I doubt that, but I can't do anything until I know what's going on."_ I thought as we entered the park.

The park was indeed beautiful, the trees blazed yellow and orange and the leaves seemed to be falling endlessly onto the grass below. The grass expanded across a few hundred acres and trees were spread out all over the place, pathways intertwining and weaving through the park and benches spaced out everywhere. At the center was a stone courtyard, benches around the outside of the large circle.

We just stared at the sight before us for a while, taking in all its beauty.

"This really is beautiful, Pyrrha." Ruby stated, not getting an answer.

"Pyrrha?"

I turned and noticed that Pyrrha was gone, and so was Yang.

"Yang?!" The young leader cried out, fearing the worst.

"Guys, I think we shoul-" Ruby was cut off as two black tendrils shot out from the bushes, wrapping around the cloaked girl and swiftly pulling her away in the blink of an eye.

"Run! We're being hunted!" I yelled, rushing for the courtyard for better visual through the trees.

"I didn't see anyone so I don't know who's behind this, even with my enhanced sight!" Blake called out behind me.

Ren, Allix, and Weiss followed behind her, all of us making our way through the trees and into the courtyard.

"We made it-" Weiss was suddenly yanked into the tree line by another set of tendrils, immediately after she disappeared, Allix was pulled away as well, leaving just Blake, Ren and I left.

"Guys, stand back to back. We need to keep a look out for the next attack!" I commanded, all of us taking a stand in the center of the stone circle.

I waited for something, anything, just a signal, a sound…

***Snap***

"There!" I yelled as the tendrils shot out from behind the tree I pointed at.

Blake dodged the attack and Ren followed up by grabbing hold of the tendrils. As he stood his ground, I ran over and grabbed them as well, pulling as hard as I could alongside Ren.

Out of the bushes tumbled two shadows, both with menacing faces and scary attributes. They didn't look like Grimm, and they weren't with the White Fang, so just what are they…

One of the shadows stood and started launching grenades at us, Blake dove to the right and I dove to the left along with Ren. We tumbled to our feet and Ren unleashed a hail of bullets from Storm Flower, his twin machine pistols.

"Blake! Get in close, I'll hold it off!" He called out as he circled around to the left.

Blake nodded in agreement and dashed toward the grenadier, ready to attack but only to be blocked by the second shadow, which was holding two blades.

I ran in after Blake and followed up with a swipe with Annivia's Talon, catching the first shadow off guard and halting its explosive assault.

"Why are you attacking us?!" I asked, trying to find answers as we clashed.

"Because it's fun!" It responded in an oddly familiar voice.

"_Wait…is that?"_ Realization struck me as I backed away.

"Guys! This is bad…really really bad!" I yelled.

"What is it?!" Blake called back as she traded swipes with the second shadow.

I looked toward Ren and he gave me one of the most petrifying glances ever…of all time. He looked both mortified and annoyed at the same time, "This is what I was afraid of." He mumbled.

"Blake! Be careful, this is Nora and Skyla…but they somehow got out and found candy. And by the looks of it…they found the jackpot!" I informed, preparing for another clash with the now recognized Nora.

"Here I come!" Nora yelled as she switched Magnhild into hammer form and swung it at me.

I blocked but was thrown back by the force of the attack, staggering a bit as I found my footing. Ren joined the battle as well and he started sending a barrage of slashes at Nora, but she somehow blocked every hit and slammed her hammer into Ren's gut, sending him high into the air.

"_Somehow her speed and strength is increased, could candy really do that to someone?"_ I thought as I charged in again, going into a sword grind against Nora's hammer.

"Nora, you have to stop. Just focus…come on focus! Don't let the candy control you!"

Nora spun her hammer, breaking free of the clash and taking a wide swing at my upper body. I ducked under the attack and continued the assault.

Blake was currently battling a horrifyingly hyper Skyla, whose speed was increased beyond comprehension. She might even be right behind Ruby when it comes to a race.

"Skyla, we're your friends! The candy can't win…you have to fight this!" Blake exclaimed, parrying a barrage of swipes that were coming at her at blinding speeds.

"Ren, you take on Nora! I'll go help Blake!"

"On it!"

I gave one final swing and kicked Nora back a bit before switching out with Ren. Immediately he delivered a fierce punch into the pink girls gut, pushing her back even farther.

Running over to Skyla and Blake, they were in the middle of another ribbon duel. They were grabbing random boulders, benches, trashcans, small trees and random bystanders from the sidelines and sending them flying into each other with the use of their respected weapons.

"Blake, throw me!" I yelled as I ran to her side.

"What?!"

"Trust me, I have a plan." I reassured.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Blake nodded and retracted her ribbons from a nearby tree, wrapping them around Xera instead.

"I hope you know what you're doing." She said as she spun, swinging Xera and getting ready to throw him.

"_Here goes nothing."_ Xera thought as he spun, suddenly he was released and sent hurtling toward Skyla, who was currently throwing a very large boulder back at Xera.

In midair, Xera started to spin as fast as he can, pushing out as much aura as he could before impact. His aura glowed around him and his entire body blazed with fire, he literally became a spinning fire ball as he and the boulder collided.

***BOOM!***

The boulder shattered and Xera continued to hurtle toward Skyla, in a split second he collided into Skyla's chest, knocking her to the ground with Xera tumbling off to the side, the fire around him dying down.

"Whoa…that…went…better than expected." He said as he stumbled toward Skyla, the spinning obviously having an effect on him.

Skyla groaned in pain as she reached for her weapons, only to be wrapped in a black ribbon from Gambol Shroud. Blake approached the downed teen and kicked her swords away.

"Nicely done, I have to admit…I'm impressed." Blake said as Xera walked up and joined them.

Ren and Nora were still fighting, clashing and trading blows from every direction.

"You hold Skyla down, I'm going to help Ren." Xera said, walking off again to join another fight.

"Be careful." Blake said quietly, oddly worried about Xera's wellbeing.

"I'll be fine."

Xera ran over to the clashing pair and threw both his boomerangs at Nora's feet, pulling her footing out from under her and causing her to tumble to the ground.

Ren, seeing the opening, immediately delivered a quick jab and snatched Magnhild away from the downed teen.

"There, now she won't be as deadly." He said, tossing away the giant hammer.

Xera caught his boomerangs and walked up to Ren's side, Nora slowly stood up as well.

"So…how did you usually turn her back to herself?" Xera asked.

"I just hit her really hard in the head." Ren shrugged, oddly okay with this tactic.

"Really?"

"Yup, it's the only way."

Xera and Ren charged Nora, who was currently weaponless. Ren sent a few jabs and kicks into the girl, who blocked and evaded all of them and kicked Ren back a few feet before switching to Xera.

Xera was in mid-swing as Nora sent her fist into his gut, making him buckle over straight into her knee. His aura protected him for the most part, but the pain was certainly there.

Nora kicked Xera away and ducked under a high kick from Ren, who was trying desperately to land a hit on her head.

Xera groaned in pain and stood up, switching his weapons into their Model 1887 shotgun forms and charged again. Nora saw this and kicked Ren's feet out from under him, causing him to be airborne momentarily before being punched in the side and sent straight toward Xera.

Xera ducked and slide under Ren, who tumbled to a stop on the ground behind him. Xera side rolled to avoid a devastating stomp from Nora's boot and jumped to avoid a low sweeping kick. In the air, Xera aimed both his shotguns at Nora's head.

Time seemed to slow down as Xera pulled the trigger. Nora's eyes widened as she was unexpectedly launched backward into a tree by a strong gravity force, slamming her back straight into the hard trunk.

Xera landed back on the ground and ran over to Ren, offering him a hand and pulling him to his feet.

"Did…did you land a hit?" He asked, coughing and trying to swallow as much air as he could.

"Yeah, she's out cold." Xera stated.

Ren gave a relieved sigh, knowing that another city is saved from possible destruction.

Ren walked over to where Nora's unconscious body laid. He picked her up bridal style and starting carrying her back to the other three teens in the courtyard, one of which was still tied up.

"Where are they!?"

"I'll never tell you!"

"Tell me where they are!"

"NEVER!"

Xera and Blake were currently interrogating Skyla for the location of the rest of their friends.

"I'll make you my peanut-butter trifle, how does that sound?" Xera offered.

Blake looked at the boy in the green sweatshirt, "You can bake?"

Xera smirked a little and shrugged his shoulders, "I have a little skill."

"And by that, you mean you're a master." She added.

"Yup!"

Skyla pondered this request for a while, eventually coming to a decision. "They're tied up behind the Funnel Cake stand."

"Thank you." Xera said before shooting a weakened gravity round into the tied up girl, knocking her out cold as well.

"I'll carry her, you go get the rest and meet us back at Beacon. We should make it in time for the party." He said while picking up Skyla.

"Alright, we'll meet you there." Blake said, taking off toward the Funnel Cake stand.

Ren walked up with Nora in his arms, "We heading back to Beacon?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, let's go then."

-_30 Minutes Later_-

The three teams made it back to Beacon, two members were currently passed out in their respected beds from candy overloads. Those two being the same two who caused so much trouble down in Vale, that being Nora and Skyla.

Everyone else was in the ballroom, enjoying the music, disco ball, and various foods all over the borders of the room. Every student in Beacon was here dancing and hanging out, everyone having a good time…although Xera seemed a little bored.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked, approaching Xera's side. He was currently leaning against a far wall, away from the crowd.

"Never really like parties." He responded simply.

"Yeah, neither have I." Blake said.

"You know, we never got around to that spin the bottle game. Skyla and Nora kind of held us up in Vale." Xera said, actually seeming kind of relieved.

"Thank goodness for that, I'm horrified to know what Yang had in store for that."

Xera chuckled a little, causing Blake to smile as well. "Yeah, knowing Yang, she would definitely have had it rigged somehow and would cause some extremely awkward moments." He added.

They both laughed a little, enjoying each other's company.

"Come on, I want to show you something." Xera grabbed Blake's hand and pulled her out the ballroom doors.

They walked through the halls and came across a large doorway. Behind the door was a spiral staircase that leads to one of the many rooftops of Beacon.

* * *

**Xera POV**

I pulled her through the door leading out onto the roof. We walked out into the brisk air and were greeted by a gentle breeze that blew across the rooftop.

"Why are we up here?" Blake asked.

I let go of her hand and walked over to the ledge, "Take a look."

She followed my lead and looked out across the city of Vale, "Whoa." She gasped at the sight. "It's beautiful."

Vale was lit up in all kinds of colors, flags waved and the night sky was filled with glowing starts, clear as day. The moon was tinted orange, giving the lands below a magnificent glow. All this created one of the most magnificent sights anyone could ever see from a city.

"Yeah, I come up here a lot, just for the view. I also play music up here, sometimes, as well." I said.

We looked out across the city for a while, just enjoying the view. I sat down on a nearby bench and Blake joined me, although she was sitting kind of close.

I started to blush a little as she scooted closer and snuggled into my side, pressing a lot of her body into mine. At this point, my face was completely red.

"Wha-what…are you do-ing?" I stuttered.

"It's cold up here." She answered simply.

Blake rested her head against my shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth my aura sent out. I caught myself staring at her, just admiring how her ebony hair and how it glistened in the moonlight.

"_Wait…why do I keep looking at her? Why does my chest feel like it's about to explode?"_ I thought as I looked away, placing a hand against my chest and feeling my rapid heart rate.

I cleared my throat to try to reclaim my voice, "Do you want to head inside, it's getting late?"

"Nah, I'm really enjoying your company." Blake responded, snuggling into my side and clinging onto my arm.

"Alright then."

* * *

**Skyla POV**

I woke up to a sharp throbbing pain in my head, "Gah! What happened?" I asked myself as I painfully got out of my bed.

The room was dark and the rest of the beds were empty, _"They must all be at the party."_ I thought as I stumbled into the kitchen in search for an ice pack.

I opened the freezer door and pulled out a large blue ice pack. As I walked back to my bed I placed the ice against my head, immediately feeling the pain dull and numb away, leaving me to feel much more relaxed.

My eyes stumbled across a note on the floor by the door. _"Someone must have slipped it under the door, hmmmm…addressed to Xera."_

I thought about it for a little while, eventually deciding to carefully open the note and peak inside. The card read, "_Meet me at these coordinates in the Emerald Forest at noon tomorrow, come alone…people will get hurt otherwise._"

There was no name, it was completely anonymous. _"I'll just put the not on Xera's bed, hopefully he reads it soon. This seems really important…and frankly, kind of scary."_

I put away the ice pack and collapsed back into bed, immediately letting sleep take over and fell deeper into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Oh hey look, a little bit of romance, a little bit of suspense, yeah. I'm trying out the romance thing, but most of it will be up to Sky...she's the romantic one ;p. Anyway, Happy Halloween guys, I hope you had a good day and enjoyed tons of candy + costumes. The thing with the note at the end will hopefully come up in the next chapter, yeah if you don't already know where this is heading...check out chapter 1. I sorta put it off for a while, sorry for that, but hey...it's coming up. Hope you guys liked the chapter, it's the longest one so far. Have a good one guys, **_**Favorite**_**, **_**Follow**_**, **_**REVIEW**_**!**

**Cya**


	20. Risky Loose-Ends

**Whoa, chapter 20! This is insane! We're also approaching the 50,000 word count mark and the 1000 view count mark, this is just awesome. Thank you to all those who decided today was the day to read this story, because that support is unbelievable. Please leave a review and tell me what you think, now this just leaves one question...have you ever played 'Risk'?**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 20: Risky Loose-Ends

**Skyla POV**

"General Sky, troops are advancing on the southern and eastern borders, what are your orders?"

I looked at the map that sat in front of me, "Lieutenant, gather the troops and mass them in Greenland, we make our stand there."

"But that would render the rest of America defenseless?!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I declared, finalizing my order.

"It's risky, how do you know it will work?"

I glared at the lieutenant that stood before me, "Risk is an illusion lieutenant, it is simply how lucky you are. Now go, gather the troops! At dawn…WE RIDE!"

"Yes, General."

After the lieutenant gathered all my remaining troops in Greenland, we waited for the offensive troops to push their way into our country to try to claim our land.

"Lieutenant!" I demanded.

"Yes, General Sky?"

"Who leads the charge against our borders?"

"General Rex and his men approach from the south, and General Allix and her men approach from the east." He answered.

I contemplated their possible skill in the warzone and made my decision, "Prepare for battle! They've arrived."

Upon the horizon, hundreds of soldiers marched into the battle field, preparing to charge the front lines. There at the front, sat upon a horse, stood General Rex. The mass of men marched forward and readied their weapons.

Looking to the east, fleets of battle ships and cruisers approached, gathering and massing to attack my flank. General Allix stood behind the wheel of the first ship, ready to begin this war.

"The odds don't appear to be in our favor. Do we dare try defending against such forces?" My lieutenant asked.

"Dude, we're not in the hunger games, besides…WE HAVE GREENLAND!" I gave my answer and signaled my men to charge the two armies.

"**CHARGE!"**

A fierce battle broke out from all sides of the continent, Allix and her fleets bombarded the borders and sent troops in from the east. Skyla and her men marched to battle against Rex, a mass of soldiers collided in the warzone and downed men littered the battle field.

"General Sky, what shall we do about Allix and her men, we cannot hold off against both armies at once."

"Grrrr…two on one just isn't fair." I growled.

My troops slowly started to dwindle, my remaining army stood around me, about 100 men ready to take on the world.

***BOOM!***

Mortar shells and canon blasts echoed through the air. Suddenly, Rex's army started to explode and dwindle in size. Huge clusters of men disappearing from sight as Rex stood surprised at the sudden sneak attack.

"You're right! Two on one just isn't fair…so let's even the odds!" General Xera stood with his army of soldiers, bombarding Rex's army as he attacked the back lines of the mass of enemies.

"Glad you could make it, and thank you for the back up!" I responded, glad that I won't be too horribly slaughtered.

"Hey…what are partners for? Now, how about a little reinforcements." Xera called back, immediately another mass of men approached Allix and her fleet from the east, countering her raid on the shores.

"At first light on the fifth day, look to the east, and more will come." He called out, starting his charge into the remaining hordes of men under Rex's command. His troops began their assault at the east as well, fighting off the fleets under Allix's control.

The battlefield became a blood bath, troops dropped in every direction, battalions were killed in action everywhere, whole squadrons slaughtered under the wrath of Xera's army.

General Skyla and Xera stood victorious on the hill overlooking the warzone below, "Looks like you saved me, thanks." I said, gazing out at the remains of America.

"Don't worry about it. That army took me a little while to build up, Asia isn't an easy place to defend you know." Xera responded.

"Yeah…well it was worth it." I said, looking up into the sky and noticed the sun. "Wow, it's noon already. It feels like I just woke up."

Xera gazed out across the lands once more before mounting his horse, "It appears the time has come, I have a meeting to get to."

"Alright, see ya later, Xera." I looked across the table at the other two members of our team, "Soooo…since you guys are the losers, can you clean up the board game?"

Rex gave a grunt but started gathering the pieces to Xera's army and began storing them in the game box, Allix soon joined him although looked a little peeved that her plan didn't work.

"Thank you! I'm gonna go celebrate this victory with ice cream!" I exclaimed, running out of the dorm room and towards the cafeteria.

* * *

**Xera POV**

I walked out of my team's dorm room and walked down the hall a little before knocking on team RWBY's door.

The door opened and Blake stepped out, gambol shroud strapped to her back. "I still don't want you to come with me, but since I can't make you stay here, then just be careful out there." I stated as we walked through the lounge and down the stairs.

"Hey, there's no way you should go meet this guy alone. And if anything happens, I can back you up." Blake said as we walked.

-_Earlier that day_-

I knocked on the door to Ozpin's office, "Enter." Was called from inside, signaling me to come in.

"Ah, Xera. What can I help you with?"

I showed him the note and waited for a response. "It seems he wants to talk after all, although I don't think you should go alone."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked.

He gave it some thought before typing away at the scroll he had installed into his desk, a few minutes passed before a knock sounded from the door.

"Enter." Ozpin called out, granting the person access.

"You called headmaster?" Blake asked, stepping into the room and taking the seat to the right of Xera.

"Yes, I have a mission for you. Considering your abilities, you should be the only one stealthy enough to back up Xera during his meeting with…an old acquaintance." Ozpin informed.

"Ozpin, don't bring my friends into this. They don't need to get put in danger because of me." Xera argued.

"Xera, they are already in danger. And you will not be allowed to meet this man alone, now Blake Belladonna, do you accept this assignment?" He stated, clearly expressing his authority in this situation.

"Yes, I accept." Blake said, glancing at Xera before standing up.

-_Back to Xera and Blake as they headed out_-

We stepped into the emerald forest, slowly approaching the coordinates that were written on the back of the card.

"When we get there, you need to stay hidden. I don't think this guy takes it lightly when people go against his rules." I stated as we walked through the trees.

"Don't worry about me, I was with the White Fang for years so you can expect me to be unseen." Blake responded, following alongside me.

We continued walking toward the meeting point, "Listen, about last night…" Blake started.

I turned my gaze away from her direction, attempting to hide a blush that was creeping up on my face.

"I want to say this now, you know…before it's too late." She continued, a little flustered.

She went quiet as we approached a clearing with a tall man in the center, he wore a black trench coat with white trim, spiked white shoulder guards with what looked like emblems on them. He had a white under shirt on and black trousers, along with black boots with white laces.

"I'll tell you later, good luck." Blake whispered before silently disappearing into the brush.

Upon stepping into the clearing, the atmosphere immediately became tense and the man that stood in the center turned to meet my gaze.

"Xera Stark, glad you could make it." He spoke. He looked and sounded to be about 18 or 19 and his eyes were blood red.

I stopped a few meters in front of him, "Hello…Zerath. Been a long time."

His eyes narrowed a bit before responding, "How do you know my name?"

"_He doesn't recognize me? What happened to him?"_ I thought as I carefully chose what words to say, "I know you because we're brothers. And you know me."

"No, I don't know you. You're my mission, that's it…nothing more."

"You know me." I took another step closer.

* * *

**Zerath POV**

"_**Who does this guy think he is?"**_

"_He's my little brother that's who. You have to let me talk to him." _I argued against my second self.

"_**No, we have a mission. I must complete it and kill the target."**_

"_No! Not here, please…just let me talk to him. Give me control."_ I fought, hoping to give Xera some more time.

"_**So be it, but you won't have this control for long."**_

He relinquished his control and allowed me access to my own body again.

* * *

**Xera's POV**

Zerath's eyes went from blood red to sky blue, the atmosphere changing and calming down.

"Xera, listen I don't have much time."

"What do you mean." I asked.

"During that night, the night our mother died and we were captured, they…they did something to me. Now…I have this second personality in me with full control over my body. I was able to convince him to step down so I can talk to you." He explained.

I was relieved to know that my brother was still in there, but whatever is controlling him…whatever they did to him, I'll find a way to fix it. "I'm sorry, I should have come back for you…but I was too weak."

"No, don't be sorry. I sacrificed myself so you could escape, and you did. Now look at you…" He gestured toward me before continuing.

"The Angels of Death want you, they control whatever this thing is inside me. They want you dead or alive, but they have no way of tracking you. That's why they sent me." Zerath stated.

I suddenly recognized the emblems on his shoulder guards, they were the symbol for the AOD. Imprinted onto them was a black pair of angel wings with a blood red sword as the body, all inside a white circle.

"So, they don't know how to find me. But…how could you find me then?" I questioned.

"It's my semblance. I'm a Sensor, so I can sense and locate a unique aura signature. I can also sense aura signatures around me-." He interrupted himself as he scanned the tree line.

"_Crap, he can sense Blake's aura. And I'm guessing his other self isn't too happy."_ I thought as I waited anxiously for Zerath to make a move.

He turned back toward me, eyes returning to their blood red color and the atmosphere becoming tense again.

"What did I say about coming alone?!"

He pulled out his weapon, a giant black claymore, 6 feet long and 1 foot wide. It had a barrel going along the center of the black blade and there was some sort of trigger mechanism at the handle. Zerath then shifted his grip and the entire blade transformed into a high caliber sniper rifle, he pointed it out into the trees behind me.

"Come out, I know you're there!" He called out.

Blake emerged from the trees he pointed his sniper at, hands in the air to signal that she wasn't going to attack.

"Xera, you shouldn't have broken the rules. Unfortunately, because of that…someone might just get hurt." He lined his scope up with Blake, causing her to freeze in place.

Time seemed to slow down as his finger went tense against the trigger, threatening to fire a bullet straight into Blake. He pulled the trigger mechanism back a little and the gun primed, ready to release a shot at any second.

"NO!"

I sprinted in front of Blake just as he pulled the trigger, time itself seemed to stop as I watched the bullet close in. Immediately I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and I collapsed to the ground in pain.

* * *

**Zerath POV**

"_NOOOO! Stop this, you don't need to hurt them!"_ I yelled, trying to regain control.

"_**You know I don't like it when my targets disobey, now that he's out of the way…"**_I felt my body line up another shot at the girl in black, my finger set on the trigger.

"_I…WON'T…LET YOU!"_ I fought for control, pushing against his power as he tried to pull the trigger.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Zerath dropped to the ground and clutched at his head, "Ahhhhhh! Stop this, I WILL NOT LOSE CONTROL!" He yelled in pain, dropping his weapon to the ground.

Blake ran over to Xera's side, his shoulder in immense pain as he pushed himself to his feet. "Xera, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have frozen up."

"Blake, listen, it's not your fault. Just…get out of here while you still can." He said as they made their way for the tree line.

"No, I won't leave you. Not while you're hurt." She argued.

"You don't have a choice, if you stay…you probably won't come back. Go, be safe, and don't worry about me." Xera stated as they entered the tree line.

Zerath appeared to have solved his inner battle and it looked like the evil side won, his eyes were still blood red as he started running in our direction, gun in hand.

"Go, now. Get out of here!" Xera yelled.

"Fine, just…be careful." Blake reluctantly separated from Xera and ran off to the left as Xera ran off to the right.

As Xera ran through the trees, he had to dodge wave after wave of bullets coming from Zerath, apparently he didn't mind bringing back Xera's dead body.

Trees exploded in magnificent clouds of wood fragments as Xera weaved between them, trying to gain distance from his pursuer. Unfortunately one of the bullets connected with the back of Xera's thigh, sending him down to the ground and tumbling into a tree.

Xera's vision started to blur and fade as Zerath approached him, gun at the ready. He placed the barrel of his sniper against Xera's forehead just as the teen passed out from blood loss, he smirked as he set his finger on the trigger and prepared to end this.

"NO!"

A black ribbon flew through the air with a bladed pistol attached to the end, it wrapped around his arm and dug its blade into his shoulder, effectively causing him to miss his shot and hit the ground instead.

"You…" He growled, ignoring the pain from the gun embedded above his arm.

Blake yanked her ribbon, causing the blade to tear through his shoulder and return to her. She immediately grabbed it and transformed Gambol Shroud back into blade form before charging Zerath.

He switched his weapon back into claymore form and charged at Blake, sending them both into a sword grind. Zerath proved to be the stronger one and he pushed Blake back, causing her to lose her footing.

He saw this and swung his claymore, grazing her arm as he did so. Blake grabbed at the cut as she shadow stepped away, searing pain shot through her arm. Zerath's blade gave off an orange glow as he readied himself for another attack.

He swung his sword effortlessly at Blake, who was trying her best to parry and evade the strong swings from the claymore. Luckily, his swings were slightly slower than hers and she found an opening. Taking it, she sent a barrage of quick slashes into Zerath's side.

Zerath spun and blocked what he could from Blake's attack, he then stepped forward and lunged his sword at Blake, who parried and gave another slash into his arm.

"You pretty good with a blade, too bad you won't be able to use one again after today." Zerath spoke bitterly, spinning around like a cyclone.

Blake was bombarded with a flurry of powerful strikes from every direction, Zerath's blade occasionally making contact with her skin and burning it. Blake realized a little too late that his claymore was embedded with fire dust, making every attack that much more painful.

Her defense was broken and Zerath made one final swing, sending a deep gash into Blake's leg. She collapsed to the ground and clutched her leg in pain, dropping her weapon in the process. Zerath stopped his spin and held his blade out, ready to make one final strike and finish her off for good.

As he rose his blade into the air, the sky above darkened and a piercing roar echoed through the air. The next thing Blake saw was a giant fire ball colliding into Zerath's back, sending him hurtling across the forest and through numerous trees.

"Vulderak…" Blake muttered as she stared into the sky, the dragon in mention floating just above the trees.

"**Get on now, I will take you both to safety where you will find help. Quickly, we don't have much time."** Vulderak's voice boomed through the air as he plummeted onto the ground, crushing a few trees in the process as he landed.

Blake bandaged her leg with the ribbon from Gambol Shroud and lifted Xera's unconscious body up. She climbed onto Vulderak's back with Xera and they took off into the sky, flying at speeds beyond the capability of anything else in the world.

"Whoa, is this how you see the world?" Blake asked, amazed at her surroundings.

"**Indeed, flying is an ability that most people wish they had."**

Blake continued to put pressure onto Xera's wounds as they flew, heading in the direction of Beacon.

"**Has he told you yet?"** Vulderak questioned as they approached the academy.

"Told me what?"

Vulderak pondered this for a bit before giving his response, **"He will tell you **_**what **_**he is when he's ready."**

With that, Vulderak silently landed in the school quart yard, allowing Blake to hop off with Xera in her arms.

"I already know that he's probably a faunus, but I don't know what kind." She said as Vulderak prepared to fly off.

"**Something tells me that you'll know soon enough."** Vulderak stated as he gave one final glance at Blake, **"Make sure he's safe."**

The dragon took to the skies as Blake made her way to the medical wing of the school, immediately getting the attention of a few nurses. The last thing she remembered was handing Xera off to them…and then collapsing onto the floor in exhaustion from her own wounds.

* * *

**And...there we go! Hope you enjoyed this one, I finally decided to continue off where Chapter 1 left you. So, there were a few 'Lord of the Rings' references in there, just to have them in. Keep in mind that I have never written romance before so this will be my first time, that being said I'm taking that whole love thing slow and simple. Anyway, **_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW**_**, have a good one guys! Cya!**


	21. You Got Shot!

oooOOO -**Announcements!** \- OOOooo

**Alright guys, so 3 awesome things happened.**

**1\. As of November 3, 2014, at 6:50 PM we broke 1000 views! That is just unbelievable, we can't thank you guys enough for just checking out this story and even sticking around to read more, it really is just amazing. We're just going to keep going, so if you like what you've been reading, please by all means stick around and enjoy.**

**2\. As you might notice in this chapter, there are a few new faces. Both of which are OC's but one was sent in by ****'The Baz'****. They made a request that I was definitely not expecting, I am truly honored to oblige and I will try my best to write their OC into the story. So, you guys will be introduced to this new OC in this chapter. This also leads to something I want to announce.**

_**"To anyone who wants to take part in this story as well, please don't hesitate to PM me about OC ideas. However, I'm requesting some for an upcoming tournament in Vale, just a few cameos as tournament competitors. They don't need to be too in depth, but all the details you need to send will be (Weapon, Weapon Name, Fighting Style, OC Appearance, and Aura/Semblance)."**_

**3\. Lastly, another author reviewed our story, and hey...I thought that was just awesome. They will be revealed and referenced by the end of this chapter as a small way of saying 'Thank You'.**

**That's all the announcements I have, as I said above, there will be a reference to another Fanfic in this chapter. It's just something I like doing in this story so you can expect more references later on. So, without further ado...chapter 21!**

***Future me says this announcement is no longer valid, so yeah… but can't wait to see what you think of the tournament!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 21: You Got Shot?!

**Skyla's POV**

I left the room after finishing our game of Risk. I headed towards the cafeteria for some ice cream to celebrate my victory. I walked around the place and scanned over the ice cream options. I crinkled my nose. "They don't have my favorite flavor!" I pouted as I headed for the door, bumping into someone in the meantime, knocking them down.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" I shouted, reaching down to help him up. His baggy pants became ruffled as he stood, giving off a high pitched laugh. "It's alright."

I smiled. "I'm Skyla." I held out my hand but he barely looked at it.

"Um..." I said awkwardly pulling it back to my side. "Isn't it a little hard to see from under that hat?" I asked referring to his beanie pulled over his eyes. I looked at his arms hanging by his side and realized that in place of one of his arms was a fake one, most likely fixed to help him in combat.

"I'm blind actually." He said stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. My eyes widened in shock.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean…" I trailed off.

"No, it's alright!" he laughed. "I'm Rideat Dente."

"Skyla Xerious. So what team are you on?" I asked.

"Team SNAR (Sonar)."

"Who's on your team?"

"Sun Wukong, Neptune Vasilias, and Anna Clyde."

"Anna from the coffee shop?"

"I think...?" He asked, uncertain about it.

"And as for Neptune, you mean that really cute guy with the blue hair?"

"Not sure. I'm blind." He shrugged.

"And Sun as in, the monkey?" I asked,

"So that's what that was, it was a tail!"

I looked at him quizzically, "Wait, how did you see a tail?"

He shrugged again and stated, "I may be blind, but my semblance allows me to see the silhouettes of people's aura, usually just colors."

"Oooooo, what color am I?"

"Purple." He said simply.

"Cooool. Hey, I'm sorry for asking all these stupid questions."

Rideat shook his head as if saying, 'It's Alright.'

"I get that a lot." he said, his voice never leaving its happy tone. His laugh was high pitched and he seemed to laugh a lot, which kind of reminded me of…

"You sound like the hyena from The Lion King!" I accidently blurted out. He stared at me, not sure of what emotion it was since his eyes were covered with a beanie cap. "How did you know?" he suddenly asked, catching me off guard.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you know I was a faunus?" He asked, leaning closer as if inspecting me.

"Wait…you're a faunus?"

He nodded briefly removing his hands from his pockets. If you listened closely you could hear a faint noise of metal scraping together, like that of the Terminator in those movies.

"A hyena faunus," I said, finally understanding multiple things.

"Hey Skyla!" Someone called out from behind me. "I see you met my good buddy, Rideat." Sun said, suddenly coming out and swinging an arm around Rideat.

I nodded, smiling again. "I did. And I learned that you, Neptune, and Anna are all on a team now."

"Indeed, we are. Isn't it awesome!?" He said, fist pumping the air.

Behind us more voices came.

"I want to rematch you some day." Ruby said walking along side Allix. I looked at them side by side and realized both of their main colors were red and black. I smiled at them, they were almost twins, besides the hair.

"Someday." Allix said.

Ruby stopped in front of us and looked around. "Have you seen Blake? She wasn't in her bed this morning."

I shook my head. "Nope. But funny thing is, neither was Xera."

Sun tilted his head to the side and stared at us. "So both Xera and Blake are missing? Those two lovebirds must have run off again!"

"Ewww…."

"I just think they went to the café for an early morning breakfast. Xera usually goes there." Allix said knocking Sun's theory off the table.

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps came echoing through the empty halls. Allix, Ruby, Rideat, and Sun all looked at the place where the noises emitted from. Suddenly, a person appeared with a panicked look on their face.

"Someone was shot! Someone was shot!" they shouted repeatedly. Sun grabbed the guy and stopped him in his tracks.

"Who got shot?" He asked holding the teen still.

"Two teens! One wearing green and another wearing black with hints of purple!"

I glanced at Allix. "Do you think...?"

She shook her head. "Can't be…"

The teen shook off Sun's hands and faced Allix and I. "The students Xera Stark and Blake Belladonna are in the medical bay right now!"

* * *

**3rd Person**

Blake slowly opened her eyes and immediately noticed all the white light panels that littered the ceiling above her. A faint beeping sounded out through the air from her left, as she felt around with her hands, she realized she was in a hospital bed.

"Good, you're awake."

Blake turned her head and noticed a nurse standing at the left side of her bed, typing on a medical scroll that had a red plus symbol on the back of it.

"You were unconscious for a few hours, but nothing major. The wound in your leg is mostly healed thanks to the healers and your aura, so you should be able to walk." The nurse continued.

"What about Xera?" Blake asked.

The nurse looked up for a second before going back to her scroll, "He's still unconscious due to the amount of blood he's lost. However, for some reason he seems to be healing quite fast. I've never seen anyone self-heal like him before."

The nurse walked out of the doors to the hospital room, this gave Blake some time to actually look around and take in her surroundings.

Along the opposite wall were multiple beds all spaced out from each other with movable curtains, each bed had a tall metal stand next to it, most likely for IV Bags and aura stimulants. Continuing her gaze she noticed a couple of windows at the far wall to her right, the sun was just setting on the horizon.

She turned her head to see what was on her side of the room and noticed one of the beds had its curtains closed around it.

Taking in the information that the nurse told her, she should be healed enough to walk on her injured leg. Blake took a deep breath and slowly lowered herself to the floor, gradually putting more and more weight on her leg.

Surprisingly, no pain occurred and her leg actually felt like it hadn't been injured at all.

"Huh, I guess those healers really did a good job." She said to herself as she took a few steps further, testing to make sure she can walk.

When she was satisfied that she was definitely healed, she approached the closed curtains. Blake peaked through around the edge of the fabric and noticed who was lying in the hospital bed.

"Oh, hey. You're awake?" She asked, pushing aside the curtain a little.

Xera was currently reading from a book, the author's name was hidden by his hand but the title was in clear view, '_Vale's Valentine'_.

"Yup." He said simply.

Blake pushed the rest of the curtains open, "What are you reading?"

Xera looked up for a second, "It's a Romance series. The author is extremely good at writing and these books definitely show it."

"Never knew you liked romance." She stated, now finished with opening the curtain.

"Yeah, I'm a huge sucker for those kinds of series." He shrugged, now looking at Blake curiously.

"I'm a pretty big fan of romance as well." Blake said, turning her gaze back to the injured teen.

"I overheard the nurse speaking. What happened to your leg?" He asked, closing the book and giving Blake his attention.

"Oh, it's nothing, it was just a slash. But it's all healed now so you don't have to worry about it."

Xera glanced at her leg and took note that she wasn't avoiding putting any weight on it. He also took a look outside and saw what time it was.

"So, uhh…this might sound a little stupid. But how did I get here?" He asked, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

"Right, about that…I think you would have to thank Vulderak for saving us." She responded.

Xera looked back and met Blake's gaze, just checking to see if she was believing her own words. "How did he know we were in trouble?"

Blake shrugged and adverted her gaze down to stare at her feet, fiddling with her thumbs a little. "You know, I never really got a chance to thank you." She stated.

Xera looked at her and tilted his head a little, "For what?"

"Well, for saving my life. I'm pretty sure if you hadn't have stepped in the way, that bullet would have pierced my heart." Blake said, looking up again at Xera.

"Don't worry about it, I guess I can get a little protective over my friends and the people I care about. It's just in my nature." He answered.

Blake continued to fiddle with her thumbs a little, wondering if she should say what she wanted to say next. Making her decision she spoke up again, "I still want to make it up to you. Do you…maybe…want to-"

Blake was cut off by the doors flying open, along with a purple blur flying through the room and skidding to a halt in front of Xera's hospital bed.

"You…you're…okay. I thought you got shot." The blur said quizzically.

Xera was still looking at Blake, waiting for her to continue but eventually turned to the new person in front of him. "It's alright Skyla, the bullet holes should be healed by now."

"BULLET HOLES?!"

Another voice pierced the silent atmosphere of the room as two more people walked in, the two remaining members of team XSRA.

"Oh come on, Rex, it really wasn't that bad." Xera stated, reassuring everyone that he was fine.

"How many times were you shot?" Allix asked worriedly, walking along side Rex as they approached the other three in the room.

Xera sighed, contemplating whether or not to tell them. That was until he was blinded by a bright light that was pointed directly into his face.

"Don't make me interrogate you. Because you know I _always_ and I mean _always_ get the information." Skyla warned, pushing her portable lamp closer to Xera's face.

"Fine…" He sighed and muttered "I got shot twice."

Skyla put away her lamp as fast as it had appeared, nobody really knows where she puts it. "At least you're okay. I was so worried about you, you know…because you're my partner."

"And we were worried about our teammate." Allix spoke up.

"Yeah man, you scared us pretty bad when we heard about what happened." Rex added.

"BLAKE!?"

Another voice rang out through the air as a yellow flash rushed straight for Blake, pulling the poor girl into a monstrous bear hug. "Oh My Gosh, you're okay."

"Yang, I'm fine. Now please let me go, you're crushing my ribs." Blake squeaked out, trying her hardest to swallow oxygen.

"Oh, sorry." Yang let her go and stepped back a little.

"Blake, we heard you were in the medical bay. What happened?" Ruby asked, approaching the others alongside Weiss.

"Yeah, Ozpin told us you were injured during a mission." Weiss added.

Blake looked and her team and gave them a warm smile, "I'm fine guys. I just got into a sword fight and the guy happened to land a hit on my leg. But it's completely healed now."

She turned her gaze back to Xera, who was still looking at her and waiting for her to continue. "I'll tell you later." Blake said.

"Alright."

The rest of team RWBY just noticed who else was in the hospital room and who else was hurt during Blake's mission.

"So, what happened to you?" Ruby spoke up, stepping forward in Xera's direction.

"Oh, he got shot." Skyla stated firmly.

"WHAT?!"

"Twice." Rex added, holding up two fingers.

**"WHAT?!"**

Xera just rolled his eyes and gazed out the window, watching as the sun slowly dipped out of view, finally signaling that night has descended upon Vale.

* * *

**So, I'm still learning on this Romance stuff but at least I'm improving. Anyway, so Xera got hooked into this amazing book series/aka Fanfic written by '****xxnachomaniacxx'****, he is an amazing writer and an even more amazing romance creator. So please, go look him up and read '**_**Vale's Valentine'**_**, it's definitely one of my favorites. I hope you guys enjoyed and will continue to enjoy these chapters, as always...**_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW**_**...have a good one guys!**

**Cya**


	22. I Can't Believe You Got Shot!

**To start this off, I'd like to give ****'xxnachomaniacxx'**** a shout out for putting Xera and Skyla cameos into his story, which is amazing by the way. That was honestly one of the most amazing things that happened so far in my fanfiction life, other that all the support. I can't thank you enough for reading this far and staying with us. Also, that tournament coming up will need some people to get beat up in. So, if any of you have some sort of simple OC you want to send in, feel free to PM me about it. If not, then I guess Sky and I will just have to think of the most annoying people ever to get pummeled by some of the main characters ;p. Anyway, enjoy chapter 22!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 22: I Can't Believe You Got Shot!

**Skyla's POV**

I paced around the blank, white room shaking my hands along the way. To my side, Xera sat in a white, thin bed with hospital machines beeping around him.

"How could you?! Why would you go out at night!? And get shot! _Twice!_" I shouted facing him for a second before continuing my pace.

"I didn't plan to get shot." He simply said.

I glared at him. "And Blake was stabbed in the leg!" I added loudly pointing at Blake sitting in a plastic chair in the room. She glanced at me at the mention of her name. She had been dismissed since her leg was only stabbed and not shot like Xera. Twice….

"SHE WAS STABBED AND YOU WERE SHOT!" I shouted angry at Xera for doing something so reckless. It was as if my goofy and silly side was replaced by an over-dramatic mother of ten teenagers.

"It wasn't lethal-"

"You're in the hospital!" I continued my pace, Blake's amber eyes followed my movements almost observing me.

"Not for long. It's just for today."

"But you're still in the hospital."

"For a day."

"DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT YOU WERE SHOT TWICE AND SHE WAS STABBED TWICE!"

"Actually it was only once." Blake added. I sighed and looked around the empty room. The other groups were here but they left to get some food in the cafeteria .

"I HAVE TO PEE LIKE CRAZY BAD! ANNND I WAANNNTTT ICE CREAM!" I shouted walking briskly out the room and towards the machine.

"Why you no have ice cream?!" I shouted at the machine kicking it in the mean time.

"Uhh…Skyla?" Blake said behind me.

"What?"

"That's a soda machine…"

I looked at it myself and saw that it was indeed a soda machine. "I knew that."

"Hey guys!" Someone called out from behind me.

I turned around and noticed four more teens approaching, "Oh, hey Sun…and team." I waved half-heartedly, still disappointed that soda machines can't dispense ice cream.

Team SNAR (Sonar) walked up to us. The hyena faunus I met earlier walked alongside Sun, and behind them was Neptune and Anna.

"Oooooo…I knew you were the Anna from the coffee shop." I exclaimed.

"Yup! The one and only…how's Xera?" Anna asked.

"He's in room 327, if you want to find out for yourself." Blake spoke up, pointing down the hall.

"Sure, I heard about what happened. I haven't met the guy myself, but Sun seems to think he's a friend." Neptune said.

"I don't suppose your friend is the one with the neon orange aura?" Rideat questioned, gazing in the direction of Xera's room.

I looked down the hall, but had no idea what he was talking about, until it clicked, "Oh, you mean his affinity toward fire!"

"I guess that could be why it's orange." He said, turning his gaze back to the group.

"Wait, you can see people's aura?" Blake asked, confused at the new person in front of her.

"Yeah, I can see people's aura signature and what color it is. It's actually pretty convenient considering I'm blind." Rideat responded.

"Oh, now I see why you wear your beanie over your eyes. Sorry, I didn't know you were blind." Blake apologized, looking a little sheepish.

"It's fine, this ability is actually more useful than you might think." He shrugged, brushing off her apology.

I took this moment to lead the charge and started walking toward room 327. But as we approached, we could hear the subtle notes of a guitar being played from the inside.

We walked up to the door and I grasped the handle, turning it and pushing the door open. Team SNAR, Blake, and I walked in to find Xera playing some sort of instrumental, this time with no lyrics.

"Hey guys." Xera said looking up from his guitar, absently playing the notes in sequence.

"Sup, I heard you got shot." Sun stated.

"Twice." I filled in, holding up two fingers.

"Skyla, you need to let this go. It wasn't that bad, and how is everyone finding out about this?" Xera questioned, still sub-consciously playing his black guitar.

Sun shrugged and explained, "Some idiot was running around yelling "Someone got shot!" and everyone who stopped him got the details. You should have seen the look on his face when I nearly clothes-lined him."

"Yeah, and then Sun told us, after Skyla and her friends took off toward the medical bay." Anna added.

"Oh, hey Anna. I didn't know you go to Beacon." Xera said.

"Well, I just moved here and there turned out to be a spot open on Sun's team, considering he just enrolled as well." She responded.

Blake started walking toward the door, "Hey, I'll see you guys later. I'm going to go pick something up at the book store."

"Alright, glad to see you're up and moving after that injury." Xera stated, nodding goodbye as he continued playing.

"See ya later, Blake." I added, giving her a friendly wave.

"I'm going to take off too, glad to see you're all healed up Xera." Sun said, waving goodbye and walking towards the door.

"Anyone who can take two bullets is definitely a strong huntsman. I guess I'll see you around as well." Neptune stated, walking off with Sun.

"See you guys around, and thanks for visiting." Xera said as they walked out the door.

I looked at Rideat and noticed his gaze was directed at Xera's guitar. He was extraordinarily focused on something but I couldn't tell what he took so much interest in.

"Hey, what are you staring at?" I asked.

Rideat snapped out of it and turned toward me, but his eyes were still hidden so I couldn't tell what emotion he was expressing.

"I…I can see the music." He muttered.

"What?"

"I can actually see the guitar and the notes flicker through the air. The way he plays, it's almost like his aura is being sent through the guitar and into the strings, and then released into the room through strands of light." He continued, turning his gaze back to Xera as he played.

"I did notice that when he played guitar the first time around. There were these orange tendrils of light that dispersed out of the glowing strings as he played the notes. It was actually really cool." I mentioned, almost understanding what Rideat was talking about.

Xera looked up from his guitar again, I'm pretty sure he heard what we were talking about.

"Did you guys know that a huntsman's weapon is actually an extension of themselves?" He asked, still playing the guitar.

"Yeah, that's how I learned how to master my own weapon." Anna responded.

"Me too. My blades and I really connect when we fight in battle." I said.

Rideat, just kind of looked at his arm, a smirk growing on his face at what Xera said.

"Oh yeah, definitely an extension of myself." He added.

Anna and I giggled a little and Xera gave a small chuckle, "Well, most people don't know this, but that goes for your aura as well. If you can manifest your aura into something close to you, you can then form a temporary bond with it and even control it if you have enough energy." Xera explained.

"So that's why you're able to play the guitar so well." Anna stated.

"That also explains why I can see the figure of the guitar. What I'm seeing is your aura being pulsed inside the object." Rideat added.

"Yup." Xera said simply.

The door opened and a nurse walked in, glancing at all the visitors before approaching Xera.

"You are free to walk around and leave if you want to. Your injuries have been healed enough to resume physical activity and even enter combat. It's truly remarkable how you were able to heal so fast." She explained.

"Cool, and I'm not sure how I was able to heal so fast either. Was it the aura stimulant?" Xera asked, lowing himself to the floor and putting the guitar into its case.

"We never injected any aura stimulant." The nurse explained.

"What?" Xera looked genuinely confused.

"Whatever healed you, it was completely natural. Have a good day, Mr. Stark." She stated before walking off and out the door, probably to work with more patients.

Xera walked toward the door as well, "I'm going to go walk around a bit, you know, stretch my legs and stuff. I'll see you guys later and thank you for coming to visit."

"Alright, see you later." I waved goodbye as he walked out.

He walked off down the halls and waved goodbye.

"Well, I'm tired. Maybe I'll see you two tomorrow or something." I yawned and waved goodbye to Rideat and Anna.

"Sweet dreams!" Anna called out after me, beaming a happy smile as she waved.

"Night." Rideat said simply.

I walked down the medical wing of Beacon and towards the exit, trying to find my dorm room and get some much needed sleep.

* * *

**Xera POV**

I walked through the halls of Beacon, wondering my way around until I found the door I was looking for. Opening the door and stepping through, I walked up a spiral staircase that leads me to the usual roof top I like.

The sun had long gone and the night sky was a sea of stars, bright lights in every direction. The shattered moon stood high in the sky, glowing brighter than the rest, but no more beautiful than the stars around it.

"What happened that night? What happened to my brother? And why is there some sort of demonic, sadistic murderer inside his head?" I questioned myself, gazing into the sky as if looking for answers.

"Do you really want to know that badly?"

I turned around and noticed Ozpin standing by the door, coffee mug in one hand and his cane in the other.

"Wait, you know what happened to Zerath?" I questioned.

Ozpin stepped forward and stood beside me, gazing out across Vale and its night sky.

"I only know so much, Mr. Stark, however…what I know may help you or it may hinder you. That is entirely up to you." He answered, taking a sip from his mug.

There was a moment of silence between us, a short time of understanding that whatever this information was, it might hurt more than comfort.

"Tell me." I said simply, preparing for whatever might be said.

Ozpin took another sip from his mug and continued, "His name was Soul-Slasher. A dark entity that took human form and was later killed. However, the AOD corporation conducted a…little experiment a few years ago. About the same time your brother broke you out of captivity."

I glanced at him, signaling him to continue.

"Soul-Slasher was a dark entity, which means he isn't so easily killable. His essence lingered and was captured by scientists inside the AOD. The experiment was to test if that very essence could be combined with a human being." Ozpin looked down at me and gestured with his mug, letting me connect the dots.

"They merged Soul-Slasher with my brother. What kind of sick people are they?!"

"Ones who are willing to make sacrifices in order to gain an upper hand." He stated.

With that, Ozpin stepped back and started walking towards the door.

"Thank you." I said, causing him to halt in place for a second and turn his head.

"You needed to know." Ozpin responded, resuming his exit and leaving the rooftop.

I sighed and turned toward the city again. _"Now that I know what's happening, maybe I can fix it."_

My head turned back to the door as it creaked open again, a black bow poked out which was followed by a pair of amber eyes.

"Hey, Blake."

Blake stepped out onto the rooftop, "Hey, I kind of figured you'd be up here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Skyla told me about your little nightly walks."

I face palmed slightly, annoyed at my partner's dreadful capability at keeping a secret.

"One time, it was one time. She wasn't even supposed to be awake at the time."

"What's so bad about taking a walk every now and then?" Blake questioned.

I sighed again, realizing that there was no reason to argue. "Nothing, but she should really stop eating so much ice cream before bed."

Blake stepped up to my right side, admiring the sight that lay before her and the way Vale lit up at night.

"Why were you looking for me anyway?" I asked, breaking the silence.

She pulled out a book and handed it to me, "Here, I found this book in Tukson's Book Trade and thought you might enjoy it."

I grabbed the book and read the title, _'Behind Those Hazel Eyes'_.

"It's a romance novel." She said simply.

"Thanks, I'll be sure to read it after I finish the latest book to _'Vale's Valentine'_." I stated, thanking her for the book and placing it in my sweatshirt pocket.

"So, anything else? Maybe something you want to ask?" I hinted, noticing a small blush creep onto her face.

"Right…uh, first I am a little curious about something." She said, waving off the question and gaining control of her blush.

"Alright, ask away."

"You're eyes…do they change color to match your emotions?"

To be completely honest, I didn't see that coming.

"How'd you find out?" I asked curiously.

"It's kind of hard not to notice, even when your bangs cover your eyes a little." Blake responded.

I shifted my stance a little, "I don't have control over it. And it gets annoying considering everyone can tell how I feel at all times, so to answer your question, yes. My eyes match my emotions."

Blake adverted her gaze from me and looked off into the distance, "So, since pink is the universal color for love…" She trailed off.

"What are you getting at?" I asked, wondering where she was going with this.

"When we first met, your eyes were sky blue, which usually stands for sympathy. But, after we started to hang out, they started to transition to pink a lot, like that night after the October Fest dance in the ballroom, when we sat up here on the roof." She said, one hand was holding her other arm and her gaze was now back on me.

I nodded in understanding but also trying to hide a blush that snuck up on me while she was talking, "Well, I guess you know exactly how I feel about you."

"Yeah, I guess I just wanted to confirm it."

"How about we talk more over lunch tomorrow at Café Royal?" I asked.

She thought about it for a second and gave me her signature smirk, "I'd love to."

"Was that similar to what you were going to ask me earlier?" I questioned.

"Pretty much." Blake nodded he head.

She gave me a quick hug, which admittedly caught me off guard. After I gained control over another blush, she let go and started walking towards the door.

"Pick me up at noon." Blake called over her shoulder before exiting through the door.

After she left I turned toward the ledge and stepped up onto the railing. Feeling the wind pick up and push upward at the building's edge, I closed my eyes and leaned forward.

The wind got increasingly stronger as I tipped forward and over the roof's railing. Shrugging off my sweatshirt I unfurled my hidden wings and took to the night skies. Twirling and flying in large loops in the sea of stars, just enjoying the freedom. Luckily there's no light up here, so there won't be any unwanted spectators.

"_Sometimes, you just have to let loose and relax every once in a while. Besides, it feels good to stretch my wings every now and then. After all, they've been hidden all year."_

* * *

**And...there it is. I'm just going to mess around with romance a little as the plot progresses. At this point, I'm just having fun with it. You can thank Sky for the whole freak out dialogue at the start of the chapter, it was pretty amusing to read. Anyway, go check out ****'xxnachomaniacxx'**** and his story **_**'Vale's Valentine'**_**. I will also be referencing **_**'Behind Those Hazel Eyes'**_** by ****'RWBYfan4life'.**** The fanfic was hinted at in this chapter but more will come in the next. They're both fun fanfics with lots of love and amazing plots ;p. As always, **_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW**_**...have a good one guys.**

**Cya**


	23. First Date

oooOOO -_**WARNING!**_ \- OOOooo

**Fluff warning! Lots of fluff! If you aren't comfortable, I would suggest finding your favorite stuffed animal and cuddling with it as well as snuggling into the most comfy chair you have while reading this chapter. 'Nough said, enjoy :).**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 23: First Date

**3rd Person**

Friday started like any other day, a couple classes and then the weekend would start. Although today, the students of Beacon only had one class for the day. When that ended they were free to start whatever plans they had in mind for the few days off that they would have.

Most people were anxious, eager to relax and take a break from learning and training. But today was something different, something special. Xera Stark sat behind his desk, palms sweating and attention elsewhere.

At noon today, he planned to take Blake out into Vale on a date. But this was the first date, so it had to be something special, something memorable.

Professor Port was going on about another one of his tales of heroism. Probably a little exaggerated but Xera knew they were all true, after all…he was there for a few of the professor's adventures, although that's a story for another time.

"After the King Tijitsu was slain, I triumphantly marched back into town with my head held high and my ax over my shoulder." Professor Port bellowed in his usual voice.

The bell sounded out after the professor spoke those last few words of his story, which he somehow always times perfectly.

"Class Dismissed. No homework for today." He announced, getting a few cheers and loud sighs from the class.

Xera walked back to the dorm, making it into his room about an hour before the clock strikes noon.

"So, got anything special planned?" Rex asked.

Xera closed the door and looked around the room, noticing that Rex wasn't alone. Jaune and Ren were also in the room, both sat on different beds.

The girls were in team RWBY's dorm room, probably prepping Blake for her first date.

"I still don't know why Yang had to announce this to everyone, and I still don't even know how she found out." Xera sighed, walking over to his bed and falling back onto its soft sheets.

Rex shrugged, "Beats me, but her reputation as 'Gossip Queen' definitely continues to both amaze and annoy me."

"At least you had the courage to ask someone out. I'm still hesitant about asking Pyrrha." Jaune said sheepishly.

"I know she'll say yes. You just need to ask her." Xera said reassuringly.

Jaune looked a little unsure of himself, "But how do you know for sure?"

"Dude, come on even I can see that she has feelings for you." Rex stated.

"I'm with them on this one. Even I can sense how she acts differently when around you." Ren added.

"I still have an hour, so I might as well take a shower while I wait." Xera said, but he remained lying on his bed.

"Didn't you just say-"

Xera interrupted him by raising his arm up, "I said I have an hour. My shower won't take that long so I'm just going to lie here for a bit."

Rex shrugged and continued with what he was doing before Xera walked in, that being making a modification to his ax.

"Did you two get kicked out?" Xera asked, pointing in the general direction of Ren and Jaune.

"Yup." Jaune responded simply, Ren gave a slight nod as his own response.

Xera looked up for a second before letting his head fall back down onto his sheets, "I wonder what they're doing in there."

Team RWBY, Allix, Skyla, Pyrrha and Nora all sat around inside team RWBY's dorm room.

"OMG!" Skyla's squeal broke through the air as she circled Blake. Yang and Ruby were busy looking for something suitable for Blake to wear while Skyla and Nora were busy fan-girling. Allix was standing by the wall, watching the expressions of the overly excited Nora and Skyla.

Weiss decided to make herself busy by prepping the makeup table for Blake so when Ruby and Yang were finished, she could begin working on Blake's face.

"I can't believe you're going out with Xera! Today!" Skyla squealed almost toppling over onto Blake's lap.

"I know right! I mean like Xera's pretty cute! If he weren't so shy, but you're both shy and I think you're perfect for each other!" Nora rambled grabbing a hairbrush.

"We really need to update your makeup selections! All you have are purples!" Weiss complained scanning a darker purple eye shadow.

"I like purple." Blake said from her bed.

Yang tossed a few dresses aside onto the floor as she looking for the perfect dress suitable for a date. Meanwhile, Ruby was in search for a pair of shoes.

"So where is he taking you?" Weiss asked.

"Not sure. He didn't tell me."

"I bet you it's something romantic! Like a picnic on the beach!" Yang exclaimed, her lilac eyes scanning a black dress.

"I cannot believe he took that long to ask you out!" Nora said pouting. "I thought he was going to do it sooner!"

Weiss suddenly spun on her white heeled boots and faces us. "Alright Blake it's time for your makeup."

Blake stood from her spot between Nora and Skyla and made her way towards Weiss.

"Since you only have purples, I must work with what I have. So let's get started."

"Do you think Xera is going to kiss you tonight?" Ruby asked from inside the closet.

"Yeah! That would be so cute!" One of the teens said.

"Oh please. No boy would kiss a girl on the first date!" Weiss said, her eyes focused on Blake's face as she applied some eye shadow.

"Oh my gosh! I found the perfect outfit!" Yang suddenly shouted pulling out a pair of black leggings and shorts paired with a white and black shirt.

"It's good for anything! Like a walk on the beach, a carnival, a restaurant! The possibilities are endless!"

Skyla sat up from the bed and stared at Blake sitting in front of Weiss.

"I can't believe you're going on a date this afternoon! It took him long enough to ask you!" Skyla said.

"I know but we didn't exactly have the time to go on a date. You know, with the shooting and the stabbing." Her hand brushed past the spot where she had the injury as if remembering the moment she received the scar.

"What time is he taking you out?" Nora asked, barely containing her excitement.

"Noon."

"NOON?!" We all exclaimed jumping back a bit.

"Yeah, why did you all freak out?"

"Uh, if you haven't noticed, it's eleven fifty-five!" Weiss said putting a hand on her hip.

"We need to hurry!" Yang said rushing over to Blake clothes in hand.

Pushing her up, the blondie shoved the clothes into her hands and pushed her into the bathroom to change. Shutting the door she sat down on the bed and waited until Blake finally came out.

The girls squealed at their work. Finally, Ruby walked over to Blake and handed her a pair of shoes to finish the outfit.

"Don't want to go out barefooted now do ya?"

Blake chuckled and accepted the shoes. She sat at the edge of the bed and put them on just as someone knocked on the door.

"Have fun!" Yang said giving the girl a big hug.

"Have a great date!"

"DONT LET HIM FEED YOU BEANS!" Skyla added giving Blake a hug as well.

"Go answer the door before he thinks you're not coming." Weiss said hoisting her up onto her feet.

Xera stood in the hall, waiting patiently as he heard a bunch of shuffling and commotion on the other side of the door.

Finally the door opened up revealing one of the most breath taking sights he's ever seen, even if it were just casual clothing. Just the subtlety of it all really made a difference…

"Y-you're beautiful." He finally spoke up, finding his voice.

Blake blushed at the compliment, "Thank you." She then gave one quick glance behind her and noticed all the anxious nods and thumbs up from the other teens in the room.

"You look great too." Blake complimented, stepping out into the hallway and shutting the door behind her.

Xera wore his usual green sweatshirt, something he's grown attached to aside from its hidden second function. He also wore sleek black sweatpants and black shoes with lime green highlights. What threw Blake off the most was his combed hair, it was brushed to the side revealing his eyes.

"Shall we begin?" Xera asked, extending his hand to Blake.

She noticed his eyes switched to purple, signifying that he was now feeling romantic. "We shall." Blake responded, slipping her arm around his and leaning into his side as they walked.

They continued to walk down the hallway and out the lounge doors heading for the stairs, "You never told me where we're going." Blake stated.

Xera only smirked at this, "Never crossed my mind."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope."

Blake nestled her head onto his shoulder as they stepped out into the brisk air, enjoying the warm atmosphere Xera always carried around with him.

"All you've told me for the plan was that we're eating lunch at Café Royal. But you hinted at there being more afterward." Blake said curiously, trying to get something out of Xera that would settle her curiosity.

"Anna was particularly excited about that. She insisted on doing a few things that you'll soon find out. And as for later, that will remain a secret." Xera stated, glancing into Blake's amber eyes.

They approached the Beacon airship and boarded the vessel, taking a seat in the back even though the ship was already mostly vacant. Aside from a few stray teens here and there, it was practically empty.

This made a certain suspicious duo that much more suspicious when they walked on shortly after Blake and Xera. The two wore hoodies to shadow their faces and grey sweatpants as general clothing. Honestly, it was kind of pathetic.

"Knew it." Xera whispered.

"Yeah, there was no way those two would be able to sit back and wait the day out." Blake responded.

The two figures stood at the other side of the airship, occasionally stealing glances at the two teens in each other's embrace.

"Do you think they know?" One of them spoke.

"Nah, they're probably too distracted with each other to notice." The other responded.

Blake couldn't help but stifle a giggle. Considering she was a cat-faunus, she easily picked up the short conversation the mysterious pair shared before turning away.

"So, who do you think is under those hoods?" Xera asked, noticing Blake trying to hide her amusement.

"It's the two anyone would expect. I heard them talking and it sounded like Yang and Skyla."

"Yeah, I could've guessed." Xera chuckled a little, "Should we humor them?" He asked.

Blake shrugged and responded, "Why not, no harm done anyway."

The airship touched base and opened its doors, allowing Blake and Xera to exit and start walking into Vale.

They walked for a bit, idly chatting and laughing, just enjoying each other's company as they walked.

After turning a corner, they walked up to their destination, Café Royal. The sign said closed but that didn't stop Xera from pushing the door open and holding it for Blake to walk in.

Blake slightly blushed and gave a small smile of gratitude, then walked into the café expecting to see the usual sight from her previous visit.

"Whoa."

If you didn't read the sign on the way in, there was no way you could tell that this was a coffee shop. The windows had their blinds pulled down and candles were spread out all across the room. The lights were off and all the tables were pushed off to the side, only leaving one table with a white table cloth in the center of the café. The candles gave the café a romantic atmosphere.

The lone table had a small intricate vase centered on it with a black rose nestled inside it. Two plates and silver wear were set up opposite each other and two comfortable chairs were placed in front of each set.

Xera walked in and let the door close behind him, "Yeah, Anna went all out. I told her that it was way too much but she insisted." He said, sheepishly holding the back of his neck.

"It's…beautiful. But the candles are a little much." She responded, getting used to the reoccurring blush on her face that never seemed to go away.

Xera shrugged an walked up to one of the chairs before pulling it out for Blake, which she gladly sat into as she let Xera push her in slightly, leaving the chair at a comfortable distance away.

"Hungry?" He asked.

"Famished."

Xera nodded and walked into the kitchen, soon emerging with two silver platters which were covered by equally silver domes to insulate and conceal the food within them.

He placed one in front of Blake and placed the other in front of his own chair.

"What would you like to drink? She has anything and everything here. I'm surprised she calls it a café." Xera asked, walking behind the counter.

"I guess a glass of cold milk would be fine, thank you."

Xera nodded and prepped both of their drinks before returning to their table, he placed Blake's drink next to her still covered meal and placed his own next to his meal before finally sitting down. He settled for grabbing himself a glass of ginger-ale, one of his favorite drinks.

"Go ahead, Anna let me swing by this morning to cook these. So I hope you like it." He gestured for her to reveal what was hidden underneath her silver dome.

Blake was already in disbelief about everything that's happened so far, it was honestly one of the most special things that she has ever done and she's enjoying every minute of it. And to top it off, Xera even cooked them lunch.

She gave Xera a heartwarming smile and lifted the dome off her meal, revealing a beautifully cooked smoked salmon.

Blake gasped at the sight of her absolute favorite food and gave a look of disbelief to Xera, "How did you know I loved smoked salmon?"

Xera gave a small chuckle as he looked across the table, definitely worth the reaction.

"I asked Yang, she told me you really liked ordering salmon whenever you guys ate out as a team." He answered.

Blake waited to see what Xera cooked for himself for his own meal. She watched as he lifted the dome off of his plate and revealed a stack of the most fluffy and mouthwatering French toast she has ever seen, topped with powdered sugar and a small bottle of syrup on the edge of the plate.

Blake only giggled at Xera's choice of food, "Really, French toast?"

Xera only shrugged, "You can never go wrong with French toast, besides, it's my favorite food."

Blake and Xera shared a laugh and ate their meals. Blake was constantly praising Xera for how good the salmon tasted as they conversed and chatted.

They soon finished their meals and Xera disappeared again with the dirty dishes, he came back out after placing them in the dish washer. Anna told him not to worry about cleaning them so the least he could do was complete half the job.

"That was incredible." Blake sighed, standing by the door as Xera walked to her side.

Xera chuckled, "For the millionth-time, thank you. But it was nothing really."

"It really was, and I will continue to say things like that if you keep this up. Which reminds me, what have you planned now?"

"You'll see."

Blake frowned at his response but accepted that he wanted to surprise her.

"What do we do about the candles?" She asked.

"I'll take care of it, go on ahead and wait outside."

Blake nodded and walked out the door.

Xera made sure she wasn't looking and after he was satisfied, he shrugged off his sweatshirt and unfurled his wings. He gave them one hard flap and created a quick gust of wind, effectively blowing out all the candles in the café, but not enough to push any of them over.

He quickly tucked his wings in and put back on his sweat shirt before stepping out to meet Blake.

"That was quick." Blake said, turning around and meeting Xera's gaze.

Xera shrugged and stepped next to her, "Wasn't really that hard."

Blake looked curious after that answer but Xera stopped any potential questions as he took her hand and started walking toward the boardwalk.

They continued their date, enjoying every moment that happened. Although it didn't seem like it, they were fully aware that they were being tailed by two hooded teens. Both of which were observing anxiously as to what the couple would do next.

Xera walked Blake through the tall gateway that leads onto the boardwalk where a carnival was currently taking place. There were rides everywhere, stands dotted at every possible direction, people bustling about and food stations dispersed throughout the entire place.

They stepped up to a game and watched as another teen in front of them played a carnival classic.

"Step right up, step right up! If you land one ring on any of these bottles you will win one of these giant plush Ursi! Three rings for 5 lien!" The game announcer bellowed.

After the teen in front of them threw his three rings and walked away rather disappointed, Xera paid the man behind the stand 5 lien and accepted the three rings he was given.

He handed two of them to Blake and kept the third one in his hand.

"Ladies first, and don't worry if you miss. I've got us covered." Xera said.

"You make it sound like this game is difficult." Blake stated, lining up a shot and tossing her first ring.

The ring sailed into the see of bottles, bouncing off of a few before falling in between some of the central bottles.

The look on Blake's face was priceless, just the pure image of disbelief and humor was present on her face after she missed her first shot.

"Okay, maybe it is a little difficult."

Her next shot was taken with extreme care and precision, but despite her extraordinary accuracy she still missed the numerous bottles that lay before her.

She gave Xera an apologetic but amused smile, "That was fun but still kind of disappointing. Sorry to waste your money like that." Blake said sheepishly.

Xera chucked, "Relax, it's worth it if you're having fun. Besides, didn't I say that I have us covered?"

Xera took the one ring that he saved for himself and casually tossed it into the center of the sea of bottles, the ring immediately sank onto the rim of the center bottle without bouncing or hitting any of the surrounding ones.

"And we have a winner!" The announcer exclaimed, handing Xera the giant plush Ursa.

Blake just stood and gawked at Xera, "B-but…how?"

Xera only shrugged, "I get lucky a lot. I'm here with you aren't I?"

Blake blushed at his comment and pulled him into a hug, "I'm lucky that I met someone like you, Xera Stark."

Xera also blushed as they separated, he handed her the stuffed Ursa and let her cling to his arm again. He was starting to enjoy it when she snuggled into his side. They walked off and allowed the people behind them to get a chance at the game, Xera seemingly leading her deeper into the carnival.

The timing was perfect, the sun was just approaching the horizon and Xera's plan was coming to a close. There was just one last thing to do.

They walked up to one of the most famous rides of any carnival, the Ferris wheel. The carts were cycling through and allowing people to get on and off as the operator occasionally stopped the ride so people could enjoy the view.

Blake stepped into one of the compartments and noticed Xera whisper something to the operator before handing him something. She didn't want to spoil anything so she turned her ears out of the conversation.

"You ready?" Xera asked, taking a seat next to Blake.

"For what?" She asked curiously.

"For one of the most beautiful sights you have ever seen."

This immediately perked her interest as they slowly ascended to the top. As they reached the highest possible point of the Ferris wheel, the ride stopped and allowed them to enjoy the view.

"Take a look." Xera stated.

The sun was setting across the surface of the ocean, the different lights of the boardwalk gave the scenery a magical glow and the reflection of the waves was just enchanting. There were shades of purple, pink, yellow, orange…all coming together to create a beautiful sunset.

"It's beautiful." Blake sighed, snuggling back into Xera's side.

Xera and Blake enjoyed the view for another 5 minutes, just enjoying cuddling together and watching the sun dip into the ocean before them.

The ride finally resumed after the sun disappeared, stopping to let the two off and allowing them to start their journey back to Beacon.

They walked in each other's arms all the way back to the Beacon airship. Xera and Blake boarded the vessel and flew back to Beacon, staying in the other's embrace the entire flight.

After the airship landed, they walked into the front doors of Beacon and headed off towards their rooms, stopping in front of team RWBY's dorm.

"Tonight was incredible." Blake said, looking into Xera's eyes, which had transitioned to pink again at some point during their date.

"I would have to agree with you on that one." Xera stated, staring into the pair of amber orbs in front of him.

"Let's do this again sometime, although a little dialed down, maybe something simple next time." She said.

"I'd like that."

Blake gave Xera a quick peck on the cheek and opened her dorm room door, "Good night, Xera."

Xera was furiously blushing at what Blake did but regained his composure, "Good night, Blake."

She gave him another one of her infamous smirks and disappeared into her room.

Xera sighed in bliss and walked to his own dorm room and opened the door, disappearing into his team's room as well.

"Definitely worth it."

* * *

**I hope I did alright with the first date, it did actually turn out better than I expected. I had Sky cover what happened inside team RWBY's dorm during preparation for the date...you know...for obvious reasons. Anyway, please let me know what you think and whether or not you enjoyed this chapter. And as always, **_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW**_**...have a good one guys!**

**Cya :P**


	24. The Aftermath

**Xera: Sorry for the short chapter, but Sky wanted to make up for not writing as much as she wants to. She hasn't really been helping out with the story considering she's focusing on meeting a deadline for her own story. She made a promise and she intends to keep it :). Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 24: The Aftermath

**Skyla's POV**

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora, Allix, and I all waited in RWBY's room waiting for Blake to come back from her little date with Xera. He's all grown up! I remember the first time I threw a soda can at him! Ah good memories….

"So ummm," I began, trying to break the awkward silence. "You want to see some baby pictures of Xera that his aunt sent me?" I asked the group.

They all turned to face me interested in how I got these pictures.

"Why would she send you photos of him as a baby?" Weiss asked.

"IDK. She found out we were friends, freaked, and started gushing on about him never having a friend that was a girl before and decided to send me his baby pictures."

"Do you ever use that against him?" Yang asked from her spot on her bed.

I smiled evilly, "He doesn't know I have them."

"That sounds stalkerish," Ruby added, hanging upside down from the bed.

"It does but I can use it to my advantage whenever he tries to tell my crush I like them!" I said.

Allix glanced my way. "You have a crush?"

"No..maybe…uh BABY XERA!" I shouted pointing at my phone rapidly with a picture of Xera as a baby. The girls instantly looked at the phone and cooed.

"Awwww….. Xera is so cute as a baby!" Ruby and Yang exclaimed.

"Is that really Xera as a baby? He looks so little!" Weiss said looking closer at the screen. A new message appeared at the top of my phone.

"Xera's Aunt."

"Does he know his aunt?" Yang asked.

"No not really. I just met her and I was talking about my team and Xera's name popped up and she flipped and asked for his last name. After I told her, she gushed about meeting him when he was a baby and told me she was his aunt."

"She could have been lying." Allix stated simply.

"Yeah but she seemed trust worthy."

Allix snorted. "Yeah like that one old woman you met on the air ship a few weeks ago."

I laughed at the memory. Alliz, Rex, Xera and I all were going to visit Vale one day and we came across a woman. She seemed trust worthy and she looked lonely. Me being me, I had decided to go say Hi to her and keep her company. Bad idea…..All she wanted to do was talk about her cats and tried to put a collar on me claiming I was an awfully large kitty cat with a big tail…

"That woman tried to kidnap you!" Allix added as if remembering the same thing.

"Wait, what happened?" Ruby asked curious to why I was almost kidnapped…by a crazy cat lady! She was bonkers like totally lost her marbles.

"Long story," I sighed.

Behind me, the door clicked open and the sound of heels clicked their way in. We all turned to see a smiling Blake entering the room. As soon as she did, she was attacked with waves of questions like, "How did it go?" "Did he treat you well?" "Did you kiss?" and "Where did he take you?"

Blake seemed startled at first before she sat down by the mirror and began brushing her hair in a daze.

"Well spit it out woman! How was the date?" Weiss exclaimed.

"It was amazing!" was all she said.

"Detaaiiillllsss! I need detaaaiiillsss to live!" Nora said leaning over the edge of the bed dramatically.

Yang and I secretly stole glances at each other giggling mischievously. While they were on their date, Yang and I were following them around and watched how the date played out. Romantic really.

Blake giggled slightly before telling us the entire story, enlisting everything Xera had done or said.

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She said disappearing into the bathroom.

Allix, Nora, and I all said our goodbyes before leaving the dorm room while Yang and the rest prepared for bed.

"Aww, I wish she would tell us now! I'm gonna die before she even gets to explain what happened!" Nora said pouting childishly as she made her way to her room.

"Well, I can assure you it's worth the wait." I said smiling.

"How do you know?"

"I have my ways."

"That makes me scared…" Allix said shortly before disappearing into our room. I laughed and skipped in after her waving goodbye to Nora.

"So…the tournament is coming up," I said nudging a dirty shirt with my foot.

"Yup," Xera said, eyes locked on his journal.

"I have some news…"

Rex looked up at me, slightly worried. "Oh no"

"I SIGNED US UP!" I shouted happily.

"All of us!?" Rex asked incredulously.

"Yeah duh."

I bounced onto the bed and smiled broadly.

I fell down on to the pillow and stared at the ceiling while the others stared at me. "We don't even know if we're prepared." Allix said from her bed next to mine.

"Well I thought it would be fun. Plus I was lazy and bored and I just thought I'd be nice."

"The definition of lazy isn't doing something that involves going into town, signing three other people up on a board, and then coming back."

"Lazy is like being Rex," Xera said pointing at Rex hanging off his bed in effort of grabbing his axe. He groaned loudly and stretched his arm out trying to grab it.

I looked at the mini corner I stocked up with food in case I got hungry during the night. I pulled myself up and walked over to it and pulled out a bag of Doritos. I stared at it and crunched up all the chips before returning it back to its spot. I walked over to Xera's spot where he hid his ginger ale and looked at it. Hiding it in the bookcase was not a good hiding spot. I grabbed two cans and shook them both at the same time before placing them back.

"Skyla…you know I can see you," Xera said.

I looked at him. "I know."

"And so why did you shake the cans and put them back?" He titled his head slightly.

"I have no idea." I smiled and walked back over to the bed and flipped open a book and read through it.

"Don't forget to mention she crushed up her own Doritos." Allix added.

"AW MAN! WHY ARE THESE DORITOS CRUMBS?!" Rex shouted, in his hands was the bag I had crushed.

I pointed at him and wiggled my eyebrows.

Prank. Succeeded.

"I'm random!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"We know." Someone said. I don't know who. I was too lazy to see who said that.

"I like cats."

"What?'

"Have you ever realized pineapples never wear bathrobes?"

"Now why would you ask that?" Rex asked.

"Lollipops."

"Rainbows." Xera said from inside his journal.

"Ha! Xera wins the game!" I said towards Rex.

Rex stuck his tongue out at me like a child before crossing his arms.

"It's getting late." Xera stated.

"Yeah, but tomorrow's Sunday, so no school." Rex said, grabbing his guitar.

"Yup, we should all kick back and relax." I declared, arms behind my head as I laid back on my bed.

Allix was the first to snuggle into her bed in an and attempt to catch some sleep.

Rex followed soon after Allix, although he hugged his guitar as he drifted off into a deep slumber.

This just leaves Xera and I. "You know Blake's a cat-faunus right?" He asked.

I looked at me curiously, "Yeah, so…"

He just shrugged and mentioned one thing, "Let's just say she can hear from a distance, especially in an enclosed air ship."

I could feel myself start to look a little sheepish and flustered, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

He smirked to himself and just shrugged, "Sure you don't…good night."

Pretty soon the last of us were all asleep, drifting through unconsciousness in our respective beds.

* * *

**Skyla: hey guys. So. If you noticed I wrote the chapter. Sorry if it sucked... I kinda wrote it quickly and my brain hurts xD so many spelling errors xD anyways I suck at a/n so I'm just gonna leave it at that. mkay byyeeeeeee**


	25. Shut up and Dance with me

**Just as a heads up, this chapter was inspired by a song I was listening to. Enjoy :)**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 25: Shut up and Dance with me

**Xera POV**

Morning broke in the city of Vale, the light shined through the curtains of my dorm room window, cascading across the other sleeping teens in the room. It was Saturday, which means no school and no work. But why was I awake? Well, I have a plan. Something I've been working on for a while now. I'd say it's been in the making for less than 6 hours, but tonight might just be the night to help out a friend. After all, there's a school dance tonight in the ballroom.

I showered, changed, grabbed some coffee and my favorite mug, and headed out the door. After closing the door behind me I turned and noticed I wasn't alone. Not only was I not the only one awake, but the other person was the very same person I had a plan for.

"Hey, Jaune." I gestured with my coffee mug in his direction, then took a sip. I love coffee, not for the energy but for the taste and warmth.

He groggily turned my way and gave a half-hearted wave, "Morning." He sounded terribly sleep deprived.

I gave him a concerned but knowing look, "Cardin?"

"Yeah, he's still got me under his thumb."

"Need me to do something about it? I can always team up with Nora and break his legs."

He dawned a genuine smile, "As much as I'd love for that to happen, I want to handle this on my own. Anyway…" *YAWN* "…I'm tired, I need sleep, it's the weekend, good-night and good-morning."

And with that, he disappeared into the depths of his room, closing the door behind him.

I took another sip of my coffee and started walking to the cafeteria, passing a few morning people along the way but other than that, it was pretty quiet. After a few minutes of walking and drinking coffee, I entered the cafeteria and noticed it empty. But that also means no food line…

I grabbed some French toast and sat down at the far corner table. The school's breakfast selection wasn't the greatest nor had the best food, but it was still decent enough to keep people at bay. I started running through what I was actually going to do to attempt playing cupid, but I have a feeling that Jaune's too distracted right now to notice. Cardin has really been taking a toll on him.

"Mind if I sit here?"

My train of thoughts stopped as I looked up, "Go ahead." I gestured for her to sit down.

Anna, the café owner and the one who graciously let me use her place for my date, sat down across from me. "So how'd it go?"

I took yet another sip of my coffee, "It went really well, thank you for letting me use the café. Although, were all the candles really necessary?"

Anna only shrugged her shoulders at that, "Meh, I thought it would be romantic."

I gestured with my coffee mug, "And it was, thanks."

She smiled and started eating her own breakfast, consisting of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and milk. I continued eating my own meal as well when someone else walked into the cafeteria. After a while in line and talking over what was being served with the chefs, he got himself a meal and headed our direction.

"Hey, anyone sitting here?" He gestured to the seat next to Anna.

"Nope." Anna stated, patting the seat next to her.

"Sweet."

He sat down and placed his plate on the table, a noticeable clang sounded as his knuckles bounced off the table top and out from under the plate. That all being because of his prosthetic arm, I figured I should avoid mentioning anything about it.

"So, Rideat, Skyla told me something about you seeing colors?" I asked, slightly curious.

Rideat beamed a happy smile, "Yup, well…something like that. I can see people's aura signature, which happens to be certain colors. It's my semblance."

"Cool, I can do something kind of similar. It's like a dialed down version of a Sensor, but I can weakly sense another person's aura. It's not much but it does the job." I mentioned, taking another sip.

He beamed yet another smile, "Yeah, and I like to use it a lot just to get around. You know, considering I'm blind." Rideat gave a double thumbs up, oddly happy about everything.

"Hey, can you tell me what color I am?" Anna asked, joining in on the conversation.

Rideat appeared to give her a glance, then went back to his food. "You're orange."

She smiled, "Sweet, it matches my clothes."

He laughed a little, although I immediately noticed something about the teen in front of me.

"No way…I've never seen anyone like you before." I looked him over, noticing the pointed canines for the first time.

"What do you mean?" His smile slightly faltering.

"Dude, you are definitely a hyena faunus."

Anna's eyes widened a little, "That actually clears a lot of things up."

Rideat's head was quickly turning back and forth between the two of us, "Wait, seriously? How does everyone notice so easily?! Even Skyla caught on!"

Anna and I laughed a little, eventually being joined by Rideat as well. "Well, did she happen to mention something random that caused you to drop your guard?"

"Yeah, something like that."

I smiled and drank the last drips of coffee I had left, "Yup, that sounds like my partner."

"Alright guys, I'm going to head into Vale and open up my Café. See you around." Anna got up and placed her dishes into the plate return area, then left the cafeteria with a happy wave. We waved her good bye and finished our own meals.

"Well, I'm going to go head off to the forge room and work on a few things." I got up but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, but before you go." He paused to make sure I was listening, "I don't suppose you'd know anything about a bright orange blur flying through the sky two nights ago? The very same color that exactly matches _your_ aura right now."

I shifted slightly and grabbed the back of my neck sheepishly, "Oh, you saw that huh?"

"Hard to miss with a semblance like mine."

"Do I need to worry about you telling people?"

"Nope, you can do that on your own. Just be careful. I may be a rare kind of faunus, but not as rare as you." He let go of my shoulder and left the cafeteria.

"_Well, that was interesting."_ I thought as I placed my dishes in the plate return and left as well, heading in the direction of the forging room. _"I may need a little back up on this plan. I'll need to talk to Skyla when she gets up, maybe she can help later tonight."_

* * *

**Third Person**

_**(**Later that night, at the school dance**)**_

Xera walked over towards Jaune who was currently standing by the punch bowl awkwardly with a cup in hand. Xera fixed his bow tie before tapping him on the shoulder.

Jaune jumped a bit before speaking, "Oh, hi"

"What are you doing by the punch bowl?" Xera asked.

"Ah, I don't really mix well in crowds, which is why I'm standing by the punch…..and the trash cans." He said pointing at the cans.

"Why don't you ask Pyrrha to dance?" The black headed teen suggested nodding his head towards the red head chatting to a group of friends. The blond shook his head.

"I can't. I mean I don't know how."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't..." He trailed off stumbling on his words.

"You're nervous aren't you?" Xera said finishing it.

"Yeaahhhhhhh…. But I kinda like it here by the trash cans where I won't step on her feet." Jaune said, taking a sip from his punch cup before shortly spitting it out into the trash can.

"AH YUCK!" He exclaimed whipping his mouth.

Xera nodded before swiftly walking away wishing his friend good luck. "_Note to self, don't drink the punch._"

Skyla pranced around the small area the dance was held in, searching the heads of people for a certain messy blob of black hair. Once she found him, she walked over towards him.

"Xera! How did the chat with Jaune go?" She asked.

"Not good. He won't ask Pyrrah to dance" Xera groaned glancing at Jaune.

"Why?"

"Because he's worried he'd step on her feet and he's nervous."

"Pish posh. That's stupid." Skyla said waving her hand.

"We need to get them together…" Xera said thoughtfully, trying to figure out a plan. Right as Xera was about to drift off into his thoughts, Skyla's squeal broke through catching his attention.

"What if I dance with Jaune and you dance with Pyrrah-" She was shortly cut off by Xera interrupting her plan.

"What does that have to do with getting Jaune and Pyrrah together?"

"Well, if you'd let me finish, I could tell you." Skyla said, scolding Xera. Xera quickly shut his mouth and let her continue her 'supertastic awesome' plan, according to her.

"As I was saying, if I dance with Jaune and you dance with Pyrrah we could meet in the center and they would bump into each other and we'd mysteriously leave leaving them alone to dance." Skyla said happily.

Xera nodded before walking off towards Pyrrah.

He tapped the red headed Spartan dressed in a long deep red dress almost matching her long hair.

"Hey Xera." she waved smiling a bright smile.

"Hey Pyrrah. I was wondering if we could dance." Xera said offering his hand.

Pyrrah looked shocked for a second before nodding and taking Xera's outstretched hand and followed him as he led her to the center of the dance floor.

"Hey Jaune!" Skyla exclaimed jumping in front of him.

"Hey Skyla." Jaune answered back with less enthusiasm.

"Let's dance!" she said quickly grabbing his hand.

"Ah, Skyla, wait!" he said but it was too late. Skyla had already dragged him to the center and began dancing.

Jaune kept his gaze lowered to his feet making sure he didn't step on her feet.

Skyla snapped her fingers making him look up at her.

"Eyes up here and focus on the movement or you'll miss out on everything." She said sternly, glancing to the side before casting her eyes back onto the blond.

"What do you keep staring a-," Before he could finish, Skyla spun him abruptly before releasing him.

Xera danced with Pyrrah slowly, occasionally looking around him when they spun for Skyla and Jaune. Xera was able to snag a small glance of brown and blond hair. Just as he was about to spin her, she began talking successfully stopping him from the task.

"So… How is your team?" she asked trying to make small talk.

"Good. How's yours?"

"Good."

Taking the opportunity to talk about Jaune, he began searching his mind for any questions that didn't seem too suspicious before settling on a more simpler question.

"How are the teammates?"

"Good. Nora's been….her crazy self. Jaune and Ren have gotten close always talking about boy things. One time, I found Jaune talking to Ren while Ren was still in a towel!" Pyrrah said before throwing her head back into a laugh.

Xera chuckled. "Sounds like something Jaune would do."

"It does. Jaune seems to do many strange things but it all ends well." She said.

Xera glanced back at Skyla as she was about to spin Jaune. Xera settle back on Pyrrah and smiled.

"I'm going to spin you so be prepared, okay?"

She nodded preparing herself not to become dizzy from the spin. Xera spun her just in time as Skyla spun Jaune causing him to stumble his way towards the spinning Pyrrah. Just as they collided, Skyla and Xera disappeared into the crowd as the two made eye contact.

"Oh uh, hey Pyrrah." Jaune said awkwardly.

"Hey Jaune!"

"So whatcha doing here?" He asked scratching his head nervously.

"I was dancing with Xera."

"I was dancing with Skyla…" He trailed off looking around himself. "She's gone."

As Jaune was looking, so was Pyrrah, only to find Xera missing as well.

"Well they left us." Jaune said throwing his hands up then down earning a laugh from Pyrrah. Jaune looked at her with a confused face as if asking, "What's so funny?"

"You want to dance, Jaune?" She asked, holding out her hand. Jaune hesitantly took it as they took a step closer.

"Maybe we should go get a drink before we begin dancing. You know I heard that dancing without liquids inside you is really bad. It could cause gas you know." he rambled.

She laughed and began dancing with Jaune before he stopped once again and opened his mouth to begin rambling. "I actually have to go grab some…food. I'm really hungry. Are you hungry? I am. Man I could really go for a glazed cream filled donut. Did you want a donut? I could go get it for us…cause I mean like they're donuts! Who doesn't like do-" He said as Pyrrah shushed him.

"Shut up and dance with me."

Jaune smiled and finally took her hand and let her take the lead in the dance.

Pyrrha and Jaune danced in the center of the dance floor, completely getting lost into the music. Jaune even stopped worrying about stepping on her feet and set his focus on Pyrrha's eyes.

Off to the side, Xera and Skyla re-grouped and fist bumped, eyeing their work dancing around the middle of the room.

"Hey, thanks for the help." Xera spoke up.

"Yeah no problem, it was fun. Anyway, off to the dance floor!" Skyla cheered, skipping off into the crowd.

Xera only smirked and shook his head at his partner's constant excitement about everything. He noticed Blake step up next to him holding two cups of punch.

"I saw what you did for Jaune. That was really sweet."

"Yeah, one sec-" Xera grabbed both cups and tossed them into the trashcan across the room, "Alright, there we go. Trust me when I say not to drink the punch. And thank you, I also had Skyla's help."

Blake smiled and grabbed his hand, "Let's go dance."

Xera shrugged and gave her an assuring smile. She took note of that and pulled him into the crowd. Blake and Xera danced together enjoying each other's company, much like another pairing still in the center of the dance floor, still remaining in each other's arms and moving to the music.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. The tournament is on its way so it should be soon, you can look forward to that. Let us know what you guys think, so **_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW**_**...have a good one guys!**

**Song that inspired this chapter: WALK THE MOON - Shut Up And Dance With Me (The White Panda Remix) [Premiere] on the Proximity YouTube channel, that's where the remix is found. The original can easily be found if you search it up.**

**Cya**


	26. Battle Royal

**Hold tight, this one's a long one...ish. But rather intense might I add, considering it's a couple battles I decided to write up in preparation for the tournament. Enjoy the fights, I didn't write all the characters in, but I did get all the new people and a couple of fun match ups in there. Hope you like it :D.**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 26: Battle Royal

**3rd Person**

Sunday was, in a way, one of the most anxious and saddening days ever, of all time. Well…not for everybody, but mostly for a certain hyper-active katana ribbon wielder. Why? Because tomorrow meant school starts up again and classes attack from every direction, slowly chipping away at your armor until you collapse in exhaustion…or so she says.

Skyla sat on her bed in team XSRA's dorm room, reading a book she found in Xera's dresser drawer. She didn't bother to ask so she just decided to kick back, relax, and read to her hearts content.

"_WHY IS THIS BOOK SOOOOO GOOOOOD?!"_

She hasn't put the book down for 12 chapters by now, as far as she knows, she's been at it for a couple hours.

Skyla didn't hear the door open and close, not bothering to look up, she was too engrossed into the book anyway. As a shadow loom over her, she waved her hand in an attempt to shoo them away.

"Go away…reading…must finish chapter…" She muttered under her breath.

The shadow seemed to have walked off toward the dresser, checking one of the drawers. Soon, a sigh sounded out through the quiet room and the shadow plumped down onto Xera's bed.

"Is it good?" Xera asked.

…

Nothing but silence…

"Skyla?"

…

Xera took his pillow and hurled it at Skyla, colliding into the side of her head and slowly sliding down her side before plopping onto the bed next to her. Despite the sudden impact, her eyes remained fixed on the pages, not even acknowledging that she was just smacked with a pillow.

"Huh, must be really good then." Xera said, walking over and grabbing his pillow, just as she finished reading the last page in her current chapter.

The black haired teen took this small moment of opportunity and spoke up just as she was turning the page to the next chapter.

"Hey." He waved his hand in front of her face, grabbing her attention instantly.

"GAH!" Skyla jumped 3 feet into the air and fell back onto her bed, breathing heavily.

"WHEN DID YOU GET BACK?!"

Xera chuckled a little at her reaction, "About 2 minutes ago. You even tried to shoo me away." He shrugged casually, grabbing the book in the process, which was lying on the bed and out of Skyla's hands.

"I…don't remember that. It kinda happens when I read a really good book." She giggled sheepishly, still lying on her back.

Xera looked at the book in his hand, reading the title and remembering when he was given the book, _'Behind Those Hazel Eyes'_.

"You know, Blake gave me this book. Can you at least tell me how good it is before I hide it somewhere else, or maybe allow you to finish it if I feel like it." Truthfully, he had no intention of torturing Skyla by hiding that book again. Although, he really wanted to read it now after seeing what it did to Skyla.

She sat up, tear stains under her eyes. Not from crying just now, but sometime before hand.

"So far, It's really really really good. I've already made a deep connection with the main characters, like this one time she was being tak-"

"No spoilers." Xera deadpanned, but gestured for her to continue.

"Well…there was this one part in the book and I started crying, I cried Xera, I FREAKIN CRIED!" She shot her arms out at her sides, making a wide gesture with her hands. "But it was worth it, not a lot of books do that to me." Skyla shrugged and let her arms fall down to her sides, returning back to her usual self.

"Right…well, once you're done, I call reading it next. Deal?"

She nodded her head rapidly, receiving a satisfied smile from Xera as well as catching the book he casually tossed back to her.

"Read it later though, we have some training to do with the others. That's why I came here in the first place."

Skyla placed the book under her pillow for safe keeping, "Fine, but I get to choose my walking punching bag."

"Alright, I guess that sounds fair, now let's go."

He opened the door, letting Skyla step out into the hallway before following behind her. They walked down the hall and towards the outdoor training arenas. Out there were teams RWBY, JNPR, and SNAR, as well as the rest of team XSRA. Most of the members were already sparring in the several small arenas that dotted about, training for the upcoming tournament that they were all signed up for. Some joined the competition willingly, others…not so much.

Ren and Jaune were sparring, the former trying to teach the latter some skills in hand to hand combat. Pyrrha and Weiss were clashing swords in another arena across from Sun and Neptune sparring in a separate area as well. Yang was facing off against Blake, so this only left Ruby, Rideat, Allix, Rex, Nora and Anna.

"So, wanna rematch?" Ruby asked, jumping up and down in front of Allix.

She shrugged casually, "Sure, maybe I can teach you about that glyph."

Ruby squealed and pulled the archer out into one of the empty arenas. "Come on then, let's gooooooo!"

"I CALL SKYLA!" Nora exclaimed, snatching the teen and running for another empty sparring area.

"YEAH!" Was all Skyla yelled as she was carried off.

Anna and Rex walked off in another direction, getting ready to spar each other. _"She's so small compared to him, how is she going to be able to keep up with his strength? Although…I haven't seen her fight yet, so there's no way to tell."_ Xera thought after they walked off.

He then approached Rideat, the last teen still standing and waiting for a sparring partner, "You up for a little one on one, me and you?"

"Yeah sure, but I'm not promising you won't get hurt."

"Meh, nothing my aura can't heal."

"Alright then, let's go." Rideat had a sort of sadistic smirk as they walked into their own arena.

They took up positions and readied their weapons, Xera pulled out his usual Annivia's Talons and waited. Rideat placed his left hand into his sweatshirt pocket and readied his right arm, a small chamber could be seen rotating in the palm of his prosthetic arm, and his metallic claw-like fingers wrapped around a baton. _"Interesting weapon of choice." _Xera thought as he looked his opponent over.

"Ready?"

He received a quick nod in return.

"Alright, GO!"

Rideat charged ahead, using his semblance to be able to see Xera nice and clearly. Despite being blind, his semblance really allows him the option of a second chance, like a backup vision.

Xera blocked the attack with both his blades, pushing back the baton wielder only to have to block another swipe. _"Man, batons are fast."_

They clashed again, somehow Rideat seemed to be able to keep his left hand in his pocket the whole time, letting his right hand do all the fighting. It was almost like a laid back version of fencing, but with a prosthetic arm and unnaturally strength and speed.

Suddenly, Rideat through his baton into the air and pointed his palm at Xera, quickly firing an icy dust flare at the teen. Xera dodged but while side stepping, Rideat caught his baton again and charged in, bashing it into Xera's side.

Xera backed off a bit, taking note of the hidden weapon inside his opponents hand.

"Alright Iron Man, I have to admit, that was pretty cool."

Rideat smiled and took a quick bow with his arm outstretched, "Thank you, thank you."

After the small stall in fighting, they soon resumed and clashed again. Xera threw one of his boomerangs off to the side as he swung with his other one down onto Rideat. Hopefully, he would be distracted enough that he won't notice the boomerang circle around behind him and strike him from the back.

As their weapons clashed again, Xera smirked noticing that Rideat might not have sensed the second weapon homing in. They clashed once more right as the flying boomerang was about to collide with Rideat, but in the blink of an eye he pushed Xera back and spun, smacking the boomerang from the air and changing its flight path back into Xera's hand.

"Good thing you like to push your aura into your weapons." Rideat smirked as they eyed each other up again, ready to attack. At this point though, the hyena faunus started laughing. It wasn't the normal laugh, but more of a sadistic laugh. He was really enjoying this…

Xera knew he could sense aura signatures, but had no idea he was able to sense the aura he pulses into his weapons. _"I think it's time, it's only fair if we both use our semblances."_ He thought, watching as Rideat continued laughing sadistically.

Suddenly, Rideat's smile disappeared from his face and stopped laughing. He looked confused, really confused. _"His aura signature, it's gone!"_

He suddenly felt the cold steel of a blade barely touch his neck, and then was blinded by the bright orange aura appearing directly in front of him.

"Sorry, but I think this means I win. Good match." Xera pulled his sword back and placed both Annivia's Talons onto his back.

Rideat smirked and placed his batan onto his waist and also pulling his left hand back out of his pocket, "That…was a very cool trick. How'd ya do it?"

Xera shrugged, "It's my semblance."

"Sweet."

They looked around, noticing that plenty of their friends were still sparring. Xera turned to his hyena-faunus friend, "Wanna go watch some matches?"

Rideat turned toward a currently exploding arena, "Sure. Come to think of it, I haven't seen my partner fight yet. You in?"

"Sure."

They walked off toward the heated battle between Anna and Rex.

Rex leaned against his great ax, Duel Elektro, panting heavily as he eyed down his equally tired opponent. "You…are…stronger than you look. You know that?"

Anna sheepishly laughed a little bit, a somewhat large baseball bat in her hand and resting on top of her shoulder. "Yeah, or so I've been told."

Rex picked his ax up again and charged the fox-faunus, swinging his weapon in a wide arc. The only way of dodging an attack like that would either be jumping or ducking the swing, but Anna stood her ground. She quickly swung her bat at the incoming attack, setting off a small explosion as it collided with Rex's ax and propelling the ax backward. Her bat completely deflected the attack.

Anna took this window of opportunity and swung at Rex's exposed body, bluntly bashing him in the chest and sending him skidding backward with another small explosion. _"Explosive dust. Now that's definitely something new."_ Xera thought as he watched the match alongside Rideat.

Rex held up his ax defensively, almost knowing what usually follows an attack like that. Anna lifted her bat back onto her shoulder and pointed the handle at Rex. There was a small hole in the bottom of the bat that Xera didn't notice until now.

Anna launched a flurry of explosive dust flares at the silver haired tank, but Rex started spinning his ax in an attempt to lessen the damage, which worked rather well actually.

"You know…you're not so bad yourself. Me and Flare Breaker usually win pretty fast, but you're proving to be above all the people I've fought before." She smiled genuinely, causing Rex to smile as well.

Rex switched Duel Elektro into crossbow form and started shooting lightning dust bolts at Anna, causing her to dodge and swing at any bolts that came close.

At this point, Rex couldn't use his super charged rail gun, but he might be able to enhance his strikes with his Undying Rage semblance. But it's risky, and takes a good amount of aura.

Anna watched as Rex stopped his barrage momentarily and noticed that his eyes pooled red, giving him a much more menacing look. He glared at her and charged, seemingly refueled and ready to go. He swung his ax, and she attempted to deflect it like last time but instead, her bat was the one that bounced back from the collision and the ax continued into her side.

Thankfully, Rex spun his ax slightly and hit her with the flat side of it, negating any lethal injury. But the power was still there and the fox-faunus was sent flying several feet before bouncing off the ground, eventually landing back onto her feet after a few bounces.

She stood up and adjusted her grip on Flare Breaker, causing the bat to transform and extent into a long spear with a large blade at its tip, also laced with explosive dust.

Rex's eyes went wide at the 6 foot spear in her hands. If he thought the bat would hurt, just wait until he starts being overwhelmed by that spear. He also noticed that she no longer had to get in close anymore, in other words, he's screwed. His rage already died down after that attack and he was too exhausted at this point to use it again.

Anna charged in and lunged the spear forward, but was sloppily parried by Rex's ax. He was tired, but he wasn't ready to quit just yet.

He parried several more stab attempts but it wasn't enough, one made it through his defense and collided with his chest. His aura stopped the blade from drawing blood but the explosion sent him flying and causing him to land on his back, several feet away.

Rex groaned as he laid on the ground, dropping his ax at his side. "Yup…you…win…now…let me just lie here for a bit."

Anna was also extremely exhausted, but smiled and plopped down next to the big guy. Lying down next to him and lazily placing her arms above her head on the ground, "Yeah…good match. That was a lot of fun."

"No kidding, good match." He sighed, content at just lying there for a while next to the ginger-haired girl.

A shadow loomed over him as he looked up at two figures, "It was fun to watch you two youbknow." Xera said, looking down at his silver-haired teammate.

"I agree, and Anna, that was some awesome fighting by the way. Oh, and you too big guy." Rideat stated, sitting down next to Anna.

The fox-faunus lazily lifted her hand and Rideat promptly smacked it with his left hand, high-fiving the girl still lying on her back.

"You guys wanna take a break and watch some more matches?" Xera asked.

Anna sat up and nodded, then got pulled up by Rideat as they watched to see what Rex's answer would be.

After a few seconds, he sighed and silently gave a double thumbs up. Xera extended his hand to him and pulled the tank up off the ground, then looked around to see who were still sparring.

"Nora and Skyla are the closest." Rex deadpanned, starting to walk toward the direction of a pink mushroom cloud in an arena nearby.

Xera shrugged and followed his teammate, Rideat and Anna following behind him as they walked up to the arena and began spectating.

The massive pink mushroom cloud dispersed to reveal Nora and Skyla clashing weapons in the middle. Skyla starting swinging wildly with her swords, trying to land a hit on the well defended hammer wielder.

Nora blocked the barrage and swung Magnheld at Skyla, colliding into her blocking swords and sending her back a few feet.

"Hey, do that explosion thing again!" Skyla yelled.

"The pink one?!"

"Yeah!"

Nora planted her hammer on the ground and stepped on top of it, "Kay Kay."

She pulled the trigger and sent herself sailing through the air, at the apex of her flight she gave a little girly sigh and pulled the trigger again, this time sending her straight down at high speeds. She spun and slammed the hammer into the ground creating a massive explosion right in front of Skyla, instantly engulfing her in pink flames and smoke.

After the smoke cleared, Skyla was on her back panting, "THAT…WAS…AWESOME!" She cheered, arms extending out as she remained on the ground.

"Haha, you bet! It's so much fun sparring with you." Nora responded cheerfully, then extended her hand to Skyla. She happily took the hand and was hoisted up onto her feet.

"Yeah! You girls did great!" Rex called out, feeling slightly less exhausted.

"Nice job, both of you." Xera said, loud enough for them to hear but not yelling like the big guy next to him.

"You totally rocked!" Anna screamed, holding up a large orange foam finger. Next to her, Rideat stood with his fists pointed toward the energetic pair and his thumbs pointing to the sky, giving them both a thumbs up.

"Didn't know you guys were watching." Skyla said, approaching the small group of spectators.

Xera shrugged, "We finished our matches, so why not. You in for watching Ruby and Allix? They're the next closest arena."

"Sure."

They walked off and watched the fight between the two in red.

"You've gotten a lot better since the last time we fought." Allix complimented, currently firing arrows at the scythe wielder of team RWBY.

"Thanks. I've been practicing." Ruby called back, dodging the arrows swiftly with a little help of her speed semblance.

Ruby planted her scythe into the ground and suddenly pivoted around, throwing Allix's aim off and sending her in a full sprint toward the archer.

Allix realized that Ruby was covering distance really fast and she desperately needed to think of a defense. She split Kryptonite's Arrow into its sword form and barely deflected the strong swing of Crescent Rose.

They clashed blades, impact rounds being fired as Ruby spun her scythe around her body, sending fast slashes into Allix.

Allix thought fast and went on the offensive, trying to push Ruby back enough for her to gain a little distance. She quickly attacked at Ruby, sending quick but light attacks through the small girls wide swings. _"Despite her speed, a scythe can never be faster that a sword. Hopefully I can take advantage of that."_ Allix thought as she pushed Ruby back a bit, but it wasn't enough.

Ruby spun around and planted her scythe into the ground, she then twirled around the handle and planted both feet into Allix's stomach, kicking her backward a small distance. Ruby quickly followed up by pulling the trigger on Crescent Rose, firing a single impact round toward the archer's chest.

Allix flew backward and bounced to the ground, stumbling as she tried to get back up. She quickly looked around her to try and gain her sense of direction again, but everything was slightly distorted.

Ruby smirked and closed her eyes for just a second before extending her arm and forming multiple speed glyphs around Allix. Ruby quickly charged into the glyphs and started forming her tornado again, but this time, thanks to the extra glyphs she had even more speed, almost doubled the amount from before.

Allix realized this immediately and tried to look for a way out of the storm of rose petals. But before she could take a step, she was launched into the air and twirled around. She spun uncontrollably inside the tornado as Ruby blurred around making the tornado even stronger.

The reaper stepped back and admired her work, then planted her scythe into the ground at a distance and started drawing her aura out. _"The tornado should last just long enough…"_ She smirked to herself as she formed the newly learned glyph in front of her.

Before they started fighting, Allix took the time to teach Ruby that dust enhancing glyph to see if the young leader would be able to use it in battle.

As she remembered what the archer told her, she starting pulsing her aura into the glyph. Soon, the glyph started spinning and a large copy of Crescent Rose appeared and morphed with the glyph. It wasn't spinning nearly as fast as Allix's but it should still work pretty well.

Allix was just recovering inside the tornado, but she couldn't see anything outside the walls of swirling rose petals. She could just barely make out a faint light coming from one side, and she caught a slight glimpse of a spinning glyph- _"Oh crap."_

Ruby lined up the shot and pulled the trigger, sending a large bullet straight into the tornado and colliding the Allix's body. The extra power sent her bursting out of the swirling winds and plummeting straight into the ground nearby. She bounced and skidded to a stop, then rolled over and opened her eyes only to see Ruby looming over her with Crescent Rose at her throat.

Allix smiled at the young huntress-in-training before her, "You did it. Good job."

Ruby grinned and transformed Crescent Rose back to its compact form and placed it behind her lower back, then extended her hand to the downed archer. "Thanks, I had a great teacher."

Allix took the young girl's hand and was pulled up, then noticed 6 teens walking toward them.

"Nice job, Ruby!" Nora called out.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome. You used that tornado again, but this time it was much much bigger, and you even used Allix's spinny circle of death!" Skyla exclaimed, riding Nora's back and gesturing wildly with her arms.

"Great match, guys." Rex said, walking behind the dynamic duo.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool. Ruby, you definitely improved." Xera said, walking next to the tank and alongside Rideat and Anna.

"We've never seen you fight yet, so based off of what we just saw, I'm kinda scared to go up against you." Rideat admitted, laughing a bit as he scratched the back of his neck.

"We should all totally grab some drinks at my café! It seems that everyone is finished and the rest are heading our way." Anna stated, noticing Blake, Yang, Ren, Jaune, Sun, Neptune, Weiss and Pyrrha.

Jaune looked a little beat up, probably thanks to Ren. Blake stepped over and stood next to Xera, Pyrrha currently looked worried about Jaune's condition but otherwise was pretty happy. Sun and Neptune casually strolled over and Weiss joined the group as well.

They all took the next air ship out to Vale and spent the rest of the day in the city, most of it was spent in Café Royal hanging out and talking. They shared what happened in their own matches and wondered what the tournament will hold in the upcoming weekend. But until then…they'll train their hearts out in preparation for the event whether they signed up willingly, or not.

* * *

**What'd you think, good, bad, intense, boring, I'm still working on my fighting interpretations. I also am working on some extra abilities for not only team XSRA, but also for the canon characters as well. Anyway, **_**Favorite**_**...**_**Follow**_**...**_**REVIEW, **_**have a good one guys!**

**...**

**Also, one more thing. Do you think I should go back through and replace 'XSRA' with 'Sahara' for convenience purposes? That goes for Ruby, Juniper, Sonar, Coffee and Cardinal as well. Just a thought I had. Please PM me about what ever you think would be best, this thought is entirely for ease of reading :).**

**Cya ;P**


	27. Water, Syrup, Jelly, Failure

**Now, before anything goes wrong, I'd like to thank Sky for writing this chapter. It took a little while but it's here none the less, enjoy!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 27: Water, Syrup, Jelly...Failure

**3rd Person**

Skyla, Blake, and Allix all sat inside the walls of team XSRA's dorm room waiting for the boys to return from their spontaneous trips to the lunch room. Even if they're in a middle of a game, one of the boys would get hungry and come back carrying five sundae's taken from the cafeteria.

But two would go missing once they were left alone since sometimes Skyla gets hungry as well….

"So…that tournament is coming up," Skyla said, awkwardly breaking the silence. She nodded her head slightly still staring at the ground.

"Yep," Allix said, slightly picking at the string of her bow.

"That's gonna be fun. Did you guys practice?" Skyla asked staring at the archer and other ribbon wielder.

Both shook their heads and continued to sit as silence elapsed over them again. Skyla stared intently at the fuzzy carpet, noting on the random crumbs she'd find hidden deep within the furry dots.

"I should really vacuum in here. Late night chip breaks are not a good idea in the dark…." She thought, letting her mind wonder.

"Maybeeee, I can convince that Xera and Rex made the mess so they have to clean it up! I did eat all the chips so maybe I can just move the crumbs to their side and blame them…." Skyla thought again.

Skyla continued her staring contest as someone rustled around and the bed creaked from the loss of weight.

The closet door opened and a mumble came through, "Jeez! Are sweatshirts the only thing he wears?"

Skyla glanced up at Blake as she shook her head and closed the door and returned to her spot on the bed.

"I don't think he owns anything else," Allix added, shrugging her shoulders.

"I wonder what he looks like without his sweatshirt, cause come on! He wears that twenty-four-seven! He even sleeps in it!" Skyla exclaimed throwing her hands up dramatically.

"Maybe he just likes his sweatshirt," The black haired girl stated unsurely, her amber eyes scanning the closet doors with curiosity.

Skyla followed her gaze and smirked evilly to herself.

"Uh Oh," Allix said, leaning in closer to look at Skyla's face. "That's never good…" She mumbled.

Skyla laughed evilly and stood up from her seat quickly and stood in front of the other two girls a plan already formulating in her head.

"I say we should hide the rest of his sweatshirts so he'd only have one! Then we try to get it off of him by spilling things on him so he's forced to take off his sweatshirt!"

Blake stared at the hyper teen for a second before shaking her head once again, the ribbon that laid on top shook slightly in her black hair. "No, that seems too mean."

"But at least we'll know why he wears his sweatshirt so much!" Skyla said waving her arms around like a headless chicken, trying (and failing) at convincing the other girls to go with her plan.

"Okay, two days. That's it. That's when the torture ends, okay Skyla?" Blake said empathizing Skyla's name.

Skyla waved her off ignoring her comment and happily took out all his sweatshirts from his closet and stuffing them under her bed.

"Isn't that a bit…obvious?" Allix asked, eyeing the green material sticking out from under her bed.

"Course not!" Skyla chirped waving her hand.

"Skyla…." Blake drew out, "He'll find those."

"Later later," The hyper girl brushed it aside as she stood and grabbed a bucket. "For now, we shall set a trap."

Skyla disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared struggling slightly with small droplets of water falling down the side of the bucket.

"Is that full of water?" Allix asked, now sitting in the spot Skyla was previously at.

Skyla nodded before standing on a chair behind the door and adjusting it to sit on it.

"Don't tell me you're-" Allix paused figuring Skyla's plan out silently. "What if it's not Xera who walks through here?"

"Trust me! It will be! Xera always enters first!" Skyla said setting the chair back with the smile still stuck to her face.

"And now we wait!" Skyla said dramatically as she flopped onto the bed, magazine in hand.

"Skyla, what are you doing?" Blake asked, scooting over slightly to make more room for her.

"Acting natural."

"You don't read," Blake said with a sigh, grabbing the magazine from the teen's hand and replacing it with a chocolate bar. "You eat."

"Uh…Blake?" Allix slowly said, inching towards the two girls, "Is that chocolate?"

"Yes…why?"

"YOU GAVE SKYLA XERIOUS CHOCOLATE!"

She shrugged and said, "Could have been Nora."

Suddenly, the door clicked open as someone walked in. Everyones head snapped towards the door and watched the bucket fall down in slow motion and spill its contents all over a tall muscular figure.

A scream split through the room as the girls stared in shock at the soaked brick wall standing at the doorway with a chuckling green sweat shirted boy behind him.

"Skyla!" Rex's voice boomed out in anger.

"Why does he automatically blame me?!" She asked raising her hands up.

"Because you did it!" Allix exclaimed.

Rex stomped angrily towards the brown haired girl and stopped right in front of her, fuming and dripping.

"You did this?!" He asked pointing a shaky hand at his soaked hand.

"Hehe…."

So, all day, after Rex's run in bucket supposed to be for Xera, Rex has been making Skyla fetch him items from around the room and cafeteria. Skyla did so, in hopes of not having an early funeral.

After a tiring day, Skyla regathered the girls in the XSRA's dorm, already formulating a plan that does not include being a slave to Rex.

"Okay I have an idea!" She announced to her small crowd.

Allix groaned loudly and shook her head, "Skyla let's not do this again. It was painful to watch you get twelve pancakes for Rex all afternoon and I do not want to see that again."

"This time it will be better! There won't be water and I will make sure it's Xera who walks in that door and not Rex." She said disappearing once again in the bathroom and reappearing with another bucket, but unlike last time, this bucket was not spilling over with water and she seemed to be struggling more with this one.

"Skyla….whats in that bucket?" Blake asked raising her gaze from the book in her hand.

"Syrup," was Skyla's reply.

The two other girls stared at her as she set the bucket on top of the door once more.

"Uh…Sky…do you really think that's a good idea?" Allix asked slowly, inching towards the bucket in preparation to take it down.

Skyla slapped Allix's hands away from her masterpiece and shoed her back to her spot on the bed.

"No no no no. No touchy touchy the bucket!"

The sound of the bucket hitting the ground and a high pitched squealed entered the room as Skya spun around to see who she had hit this time.

To her relief, it wasn't Rex but much to her disappointment it wasn't Xera either. Standing in the doorway of the dorm, covered in syrup, was Nora. She stood there with a large smile on her face and a loud squeal escaping her lips.

"Syrup!" She screaming bringing her hand to her face and giving it a lick.

"I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! I HAVE TO GO SHOW REN! AND I NEED PANCAKES!" She squealed once more, causing everyone to wince as she bounded out the door.

"Well…that didn't work," Skyla said staring at the empty doorway. A sudden face popped in and glanced around the room then at the ground.

"What happened here?" Xera asked eyeing the suspicious stain on the ground. "Is that syrup?"

"Don't ask," Blake said.

The next day, Skyla tried again in hopes of finally getting Xera.

"Why don't we just turn up the heat? He'll get hot and take off his sweatshirt" Allix asked, watching afar as Skyla stood by the door with a bucket of water in hand.

"That won't work. I don't think he ever gets hot in that freaking thing," She said eyeing the door.

"And why are you holding the bucket instead of putting it on the door?" Blake asked.

"So that I can make sure that it's Xera I hit not some other person."

"Good luck with that," Allix mumbled under her breath.

Skyla watched in anticipation as the door handle turned slowly and a mop of black hair entered the room. She smiled as she threw the bucket at the person spilling all the water on top of the person. Their black hair and pink strip were soaked and their pink eyes glared her way.

"Wait…PINK?! That means…."

In place of Xera, was a drenched Ren staring at her directly.

"Oops…wrong person," She said nervously fumbling with the bucket slightly.

Behind her, Allix let out a bark of laughter. "Wrong person yet again."

"Why did Nora come out of this room with syrup all over her head?" Ren asked, still glaring daggers at Skyla but speaking stoically.

"She's been trying to target Xera." Allix said, calming down from her laughing.

"Right, I'm just going to go. You owe me money for dry cleaning and 8 pounds of pancake batter." He said, heavily sighing at that last part before leaving.

Only after Ren was gone and the empty spot he left behind dried a small bit did Skyla and the others let out their laughter.

"Did you see his face?!" Skyla asked between heavy laughing fits.

"He looked like he was ready to kill you!" Allix said, sobering up.

"I do admit it was pretty funny," Blake said smiling.

"Okay so maybe that didn't go as planned but I have another idea. Wait here," she said disappearing with the bucket once more and reappearing.

She set it up on the door once more and looked around the room suddenly remembering something and frowned.

"Did Jaune ever give me my book back?" She asked looking at the empty spot by her bed. She had lent Jaune her book before her quest to attacking Xera and the thought had completely slipped her mind.

"No."

"Can you call him? I kinda want it back," Skyla said climbing down from her chair.

"But the trap-" Blake began but Skyla stopped her.

"I texted Xera. He's on his way now. He's leaving the caferreria now."

The door clicked open behind them as someone entered the room. Skyla let out an annoyed growl as Jaune's voice came though.

"Hey Skyla I have your book-" he was cut off short by a bucket full of purple liquid came spilling over his head and oozed down his shirt.

He froze completely, face frozen in pure shock with a slight hint of terror.

Slowly, he raised his hand and touched the gooey mess on his head and let out a gasp.

"What's on my head?"

Skyla smiled nervously and shrugged. "Jelly…grape jelly."

She carefully made her way over and sheepishly took the book from Jaune's hand.

"Uh thanks for bringing the book back," she said nervously laughing. "Uh sorry about the jelly…it wasn't meant for you."

Xera suddenly appeared in the doorway, surveying the mess once again like he had with Nora. He had his scroll in one hand and a new book I've never seen before in the other. It's title was slanted but still easily readable, 'Of Flesh and Stone.'

"Hey Blake, have you heard about this?" Xera said, staring at his scroll now."

"Heard about what?" The cat-faunus responded, now standing and peering over the teens shoulder.

"One of my favorite authors is getting engaged. He's even working together with his fiancé on this new book series I found." He handed Blake the book while scrolling through what was on his scroll.

"That's sweet. I wonder how he proposed." She stated.

"Hey, you should check out that book. I've already read it and waiting on the next one to come out."

She scanned over the back and immediately flipped to the first chapter, taking new temporary residence on Xera's bed as she read.

At this point, Skyla was already jumping from her spot and snatching away his scroll.

"Oh my gosh! Really? This is awesome!" She exclaimed, plopping back where she was to read what was on Xera's scroll.

Xera took this opportunity to take a closer look at the room, noticing a certain blonde haired knight and whatever was on his head…

"Why do you like making messes in the dorm?" He asked staring at Jaune's purple and blonde head but the question was directed to Skyla.

"Oh shut up," Skyla mumbled unhappily, tossing the scroll back to the originally targeted teen. _"You know, I WILL get this trap thing to work. Just wait Xera."_

* * *

**So, my fanfic friend's engaged! YEAH, ****'xxnachomaniacxx'**** and ****'demonic1556'****, hats off to you two and the best of luck. Congratulations have already been thrown around here and there, Sky's excited about it too…really excited. And, yeah…feel free to go check out their new story, I'd highly recommend it. 'Of Flesh and Stone' is great so far and will only get better, so why not be there for the ride? I know I'm in. Between both they're skills, the story is definitely one worth reading and loving. Anyway, announcements and stuff out of the way, **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	28. Caza and Lanza

**So, as none of you may know we've decided to take a small break and relax for Christmas and New Years. You know, spending time with family and friends out of state and in state, that kind of thing. Oh, on a side note, we hit 2000 views! Yeah! Thank you so much for that, all of you that continue to read and those that randomly read. All of you are highly appreciated and mean a lot to Sky and I, so keep reading and enjoying the chapters. Please let us know how you feel about the content and what can be adapted or changed. Also, there is an important announcement at the bottom of this chapter so if you've read this far into the author's note, please read what is announced. With that said, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 28: Caza and Lanza

**Xera POV**

"Is that a nevermore?"

"Yes."

"But it's so much smaller."

"He's young."

"It's a he? How do you know?"

"I can tell by his wings and beak."

"Really?"

Skyla, my partner in all things destructive, has decided today was the day to ask as many questions as she can. Honestly, I don't mind, as long as they aren't lethal, deadly, personal, or just plain offensive. Lanza is a fellow avian after all.

Ozpin decided to hire a new teacher and this is her first day. It's 20 minutes into our first class and she still hasn't showed up yet. But the other students have taken a liking to the docile nevermore in the corner of the class room. Professor Caza Miralla, our new class teacher, has written a very thoughtful message on the board,_ 'Touch Lanza and you will most likely be eaten alive.'_

Team RWBY and my team have this class together, thankfully Jaune doesn't have this class so early in the day. I've heard he's deathly afraid of nevermores. Poor guy.

Skyla sat to my right and to her right sat Rex and Allix. To my left was Blake and the rest of her team. Blake was currently spending her extra free time reading a book and leaning against my shoulder. I was slouched over the long desk drawing. Nothing too fancy, just a couple doodles from the Lord of the Rings.

"Do you think it would be okay if I jump on his back?" Skyla asked, anticipation already flaring in her eyes.

I gave her the most serious look I could muster, "That's a death wish. Haven't you read the board?"

"But he's so cute!"

"Doesn't mean he won't kill you."

"He won't."

"And how do you know how he'll respond?"

"Because I'm good with animals!" She exclaimed, leaning back in her seat in self pride and confidence. "I can definitely gain Lanza's trust."

She didn't look to be giving up anytime soon, so…"I'll back you up then, you know, just in case." I said, gently standing up. Blake was already done leaning against my shoulder, having heard my less than quiet partner. Team RWBY had an odd interest in what was about to happen and my team already had mini flag's with Skyla's name on them with a purple color.

"Yeah, go get 'em Skyla!" Rex stated, giving his small flag a wave. Allix just sat silently, waving her's back and forth.

"How did you guys get those flags so fast?" I asked, walking after Skyla as she skipped down the middle isle to the front of the room.

"Blake had them. She has flags for her team too."

I looked to Blake and she just gave me a small shrug and waved her own, but her flag dawned my name on it with a green and black color scheme.

Following Skyla down to the teacher's desk, all conversations stopped once everyone noticed her approaching the nevermore.

"Hey there Lanza, would you mind if I climb onto your back for a second?" She asked, slowly walking forward with both hands extended in front of her.

Lanza's eyes grew slightly more territorial as the purple girl approached him, he backed up a small bit with every one of Skyla's steps.

"Skyla, I don't think he want's anyone to ride him." I said, hopefully stopping her advances.

"Relax Xera, I got this." She whispered back, slowly approaching Lanza.

The nevermore was now in the pushed into the corner, no more room to back up. He was still very docile though, but I think that'll change if she gets any closer.

Skyla was now standing just in front of Lanza. She looked into his eyes and was murmuring something under her breath as she extended her hand, gently placing it on Lanza's head.

Lanza was not at all pleased by this, he instantly pushed forward, throwing Skyla's hand off and trying to bite at it.

Skyla fell backwards as I stepped forward, now standing in between Skyla and Lanza. I extended my hand forward in an attempt to stop him from attacking my partner. Lanza shrieked in anger a little, probably riled up after what Skyla attempted.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. She was just being friendly." I said as gently as I could. "She was just trying to gain you're trust." …I think.

Lanza calmed down a bit but never broke eye contact with Skyla. Taking this moment, I stepped forward and gently placed my hand on his beak. His eyes immediately snapped back to me and his territorial gaze dropped.

His throat rumbled a little and he closed his eyes, pushing his beak further against my hand. _"Was that a coo? Is he cooing?"_ I thought.

"What are you doing?" A new voice, a slightly older and feminine voice, broke the tense air.

I turned my head and looked at Skyla, but her gaze was fixed on the door to the class room. I looked up and saw a new woman standing in the door way who looked to be about 26. She was wearing tight fitting leather pants and black leather heeled boots that reached her mid shin. Her top was a tight fitting tube top that revealed an ample amount of cleavage and also showed most of her stomach. On top of all that was a long black trench coat and a black cowboy hat atop her dark blue hair. Her equally dark blue eyes were glaring at me as if I was some sort of threat.

"Just helping my partner." I responded a little sheepishly.

Her eyes flashed to Skyla, who was still on the ground, then back to me.

"Well, you're not lying." She sighed as she approached her desk and placed her bag on it, her hips swayed naturally with every step. Most likely mesmerizing all the guys and maybe even some girls in this class.

I stepped back and helped Skyla up, "How come Lanza let you pet him?" She asked under her breath with a hint of jealousy.

I smiled and responded, "Because I'm good with animals."

She gave me a quick glare but that was immediately broken by a small smile. We sat back down in our seats but I could feel Lanza's eyes never leave me.

"So, If you're all done waiting around. Let's start class, shall we?" The woman said smoothly, sitting on her desk with her legs crossed.

"My name is Caza Miralla, and that's my partner Lanza." She motioned toward the nevermore who flapped his wings a bit at his name being spoken by Caza. "And his trust is not easily obtained."

Skyla cowered in her seat a little as the teacher looked at her, but then transferred over to me. She lifted her eye brow and I responded by shrugging my shoulders, "His trust is hard to get...almost everyone who has ever tried has never received it. Except for you."

Again I shrugged my shoulders. She reluctantly turned away and started class. "Today we learn about tracking and survival. Now, who can tell me the best way to ignite a small controlled fire?"

Weiss's hand shot up immediately only to receive a questioning look from our new professor. She glanced at a paper on her desk before looking back up at the only hand raised in the room, "What is the answer Miss Schnee?"

"The most sufficient way to create a controlled fire is to utilize a small amount of red dust and igniting it on something flammable." She stated.

"Yes, a text book answer but a clear answer none the less. But what if you don't have any red dust with you?" Professor Miralla asked.

I raised my hand this time, "Well, you could find two rocks and strike them together or you could rub sticks together. But both of the methods require some sort of dry tinder that could easily catch a spark."

She nodded her head, "Clever, an old technique but one that has always worked."

Pretty soon class ended, mainly because it started 30 minutes late. My team and team RWBY walked out the door and headed off to lunch. Today we only had two classes with lunch in between. We'll undoubtedly meet up with team JNPR at lunch.

I pulled Ruby to the side from the back of the group, "Hey, wanna help with the final modifications to my weapon?"

Her silver eyes immediately lit up, "Yes, I've been dying to see what you're doing to Annivia's Talons! They're so cool and curve just like crescent rose but not really-"

"Alright cool, let's go then. We can work on it while the others go to lunch." I said, stopping her rant only to receive an even larger smile.

"What are we waiting for!"

She squealed and took off towards the forge room, leaving a trail of rose petals behind her. I followed behind, but taking my own pace. As I turned the corner I found Ruby's trail of rose petals ending right in front of an Irish guy. He even had a slightly large mustache with lamb chops. Despite his young age, he did a very good job growing that out. He was wearing a double breasted dark green vest and a black t-shirt underneath. He was also wearing black jeans and Doc martens, finishing off the Irish look with an Irish flat cap on top of his head. His arms had tattoos of a Celtic knot running down they're entire lengths.

"I'm so sorry, I was kinda excited and I wasn't looking and you just so happened to be here and then…I'm sorry." Ruby apologized, slightly cowering away from the red haired boy.

He wasn't at all fazed, in fact, he was slightly tipsy. "Relax...the mead didn't spill so no harm done." He gave her a warm smile, his warm green eyes not at all intoxicated. Probably because of how often he drinks considering he's walking around with a cup of mead. He took another sip then walked off.

"See you…around?" Ruby asked as he walked off.

"Most likely if you're in the Vale's Champion tournament." He called back.

"Well, now we've met another student in the tournament. I wonder who else is showing up for this thing?" I said after he turned the corner.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see all the weapons people bring. In fact, I wonder what his is." She responded. "Anyway, forge room?"

"Yup." I nodded.

We headed off again and soon enough, we reached the forge room with my weapons already scattered in parts set up from the night before.

"So, what are we working on?" Ruby asked, eyeing the table.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

"_THIS IS SO UNFAIR! HOW COME XERA CAN TOUCH THAT BIRDY AND I CANT?! So unfair…"_

I walked down the hallway of the school pouting to myself. Xera and Ruby had run off somewhere, successfully bumping into the new kid who seemed drunk. But then again, one glance at Nora and I and you'd think we were the ones drunk. He looked Irish and now it's bugging me to know whether or not he's officially Irish or not. And I have to know!

I stopped abruptly and thought for a moment.

"_I could go try and gain the trust of the nevermore once more or I could go confront the red headed Rex and see for sure if he's Irish."_

I shrugged and turned in my direction and headed back towards the tall built Irish in hopes he wouldn't crush me.

"_Target spotted. Missiles loaded."_

I headed straight up to him, causing him to stop in his wobble or whatever drunk walk he was doing.

"Hello," He said.

I looked up, literally, at him and narrowed my eyes. "I have a problem with you."

He titled his head in confusion.

"Are you Irish or not?" I asked.

He laughed. "Yes, I am." He raised his cup of foul smelling drink to his lips and took a sip.

"Okay, cool. Well, now I'm gonna go hide in that corner," I pointed to one behind him, "and take out my rocket launcher and shoot it at you. Bai Bai," I said laughing.

"You are a disturbed little girl."

I laughed. "You have no idea."

I skipped happily towards the corner and took out my favorite rocket launcher all dressed up in ribbons. It was my favorite cause it held the biggest rockets. Plus it was pink and blue ribbons.

The Irish dude stared at me in horror, most likely not expecting me to actually take out a real rocket launcher.

"Just please don't hit the mead!" He shouted holding out his cup.

"_Oh so that's what that smelly thing was. Mead. Sounds like meat…hehe…."_

"_Hey Skyla whatcha drinking? Oh just a cup of meat!"_

"_What kind?"_

"_MEAT FLAVORED!"_

"_Hahahha. I crack myself up."_

I sighed smiling to myself like a lunatic and aimed my rocket launcher.

"What the heck is Mead?" I asked.

"A drink from my home land." He said.

I nodded. "Okay. Just a question, what does it taste like?"

"Alcohol."

"Be more specific or I shoot." I held up my baby once more, aiming straight at him.

He didn't seem fazed at this.

"It tastes…well it's hard to describe." He shrugged.

I nodded. "Well it sounds like meat and it doesn't sound appetizing cause every time I hear Mead I think of raw meat so I'm just gonna go now. Bye" I said throwing my baby over my shoulder and walking away.

A loud sound and weight being lifted off my shoulder made me stop and turn around slowly.

I realized I hadn't unloaded my rocket launcher and the safety was off and I had just pressed the trigger with my shoulder.

Behind me stood a very burnt and a very shocked Irish Rex, his cup of mead was now on the floor and spilled…..

He looked at it and frowned.

Uh Oh…

"My mead…" he said glancing back at it and then at me.

I smiled nervously and took off in a cloud of dust and ran away. I raced down the hallway past a surprised Allix and Rex and through a wall. To my luck, there was somebody behind it. And that was the new teacher.

"What in the world?!" She said looking down at the broken wall.

I couldn't see what she was looking at. I was blinded by a big cowboy hat that had fallen during the crash. I laughed nervously and smiled before taking off once more.

Maybe I wouldn't hurt anyone again.

"_Hahaha, yeah right."_

"_I know, I'm such a comedian! If only people were here to hear how funny I can actually be."_

"_This was so not how the first day back from vacation was supposed to go!"_ I thought.

I ran into the lunchroom and stopped, panting.

"_Maybe. I shouldn't have eaten those five pies during Christmas."_

"_Eh. Worth it."_

I happily skipped towards the lunch line, grabbing a cookie, the drink naked, and a salad. That's right I'm healthy.

"_You grabbed ten cookies."_

"_I know. I only took ten. I usually have twenty."_

I walked away from the line and walked towards a random table.

"_Hehe… I got naked today."_

I held up the mango naked drink and giggled at my own joke.

I was busy laughing at my own joke to realize that my naked bottle was…naked.

Meaning empty.

I looked up to see the orange smoothie on a shirt…on a guy….with a shocked face.

"Hi…Smoothie wearing guy." I said awkwardly staring at the orange spot on his red shirt and some on his black vest.

He laughed and surveyed the mess himself. "It's alright. As long as you don't spill that salad on me too." He said jokingly.

His purple eyes twinkled with humor as he began cleaning it up. I titled my head slightly, noticing a scar going across his eye. I wonder how he got it.

I laughed thinking how his white hair made him look like Jack Frost.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing, Jack."

His face wrinkled in confusion. "Jack? My name is Daemon."

I widened my eyes realizing that I had called him Jack.

My mouth formed an 'o'.

Well, crap.

"I'm usually speedy and nimble in avoiding these things but you kinda came out of nowhere." he said chuckling.

Hmm…quite the charmer isn't he.

Eh, he could do better.

Like have blonde fluffy hair. Be cuddly. And be loyal.

And walk on four paws and go by the name 'Golden Retriever'.

"Hey, how would you like to get hit by my rocket launcher by mistake and then get dragged away by a T-Rex who can't even pick you up because his arms are too tiny?" I asked randomly.

He laughed once more. "I would like that."

"Okay, good because there's a T-Rex behind you." I said shrugging. He turned around to see the Irish dude I shot with a rocket by mistake.

"Hey…Irish dude..what's up?" I asked smiling nervously.

"What's up Patrick!" Daemon said high fiving the Irish looking Rex. I should stop calling him that. His name is Patrick, I think.

"Hey, Daemon."

"You have a big mustache" I said, forcing myself to not point at it.

He stared at me silently.

"I uh…OMG THERES A MAGIC WEIDLING MAN RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" I said randomly hoping it would take their attention from me.

"How did you know?!" A guy said form behind them. He was wearing a robe.

I laughed, "I actually didn't know you were a magic wielding dude but it's nice to know. I just said that so I could run away cause I think I insulted Patrick over here….so yeah I'm just gonna go…" I said.

He waved his hand, in the palm was a strange tattoo.

"Ah don't worry about Patrick. He won't hurt you. As long as you don't make fun of his heritage." He said.

"Nice to know. Well since I either shot a rocket at you, spilled my smoothie on you, just totally went awesome at guessing at you, or I just pointed out that you're writing in a notebook and just got here. Hi, my name is Skyla." I rambled, realizing there was a new addition who was currently writing in a notebook.

"You already know Patrick and Daemon. I'm Melvin and that is Green." He said pointing at the guy scribbling away.

"Like the color?"

Green looked up. "Sure." and continued to scribble.

He was listening?

"Okay, well let's get to know each other a little more. But I already know Melvin is a magician so um yeaahh. Hi, I'm Skyla and I like to shoot rockets and poke people with sticks. And I just realized I am long overdue for a good poking so I'm gonna go poke somebody since I already shot a rocket." I said walking away.

Behind me, I heard someone talk.

"We didn't even get to say something about ourselves."

"OUCH!" Green exclaimed jumping back slightly.

I poked my head out from the side of them holding a stick.

"There. Now I know something about you. I can poke you with a stick. Kay, bye bye." I grinned and skipped away spinning my stick around.

"_Ah maybe today will be a good day. I shot a rocket at an Irish dude, I poked a color, spilled a smoothie on a charmer who could be better by being a dog, AND I met a new teacher and almost patted a nevermore."_

"_Good day."_

* * *

**Hia! OMG 2000 VIEWS! Eek! I am truly honored you all like this book and got us to that point. Honestly, I don't care much to the number. All I care about is the fact people enjoy reading what my brother and I love doing. I have no idea if that made sense, but thank you so much for the views! Again, I am honored! Even if Skyla doesn't make sense more than half the time…xD.**

**Thank you again, Happy holidays!**

**-Sky**

oooOOO – **Announcements** \- OOOooo

**Again, thank you so much from myself as well. Now I have some important announcements to make. This chapter officially marks the end of whatever arc this has been. Now I'll be working on the tournament and the numerous fights that will be occurring. I count 35-36 people in this tournament, most of which are OC and have been submitted by friends, other authors, and extra character from other fanfics that I enjoy reading. I did ask for permission to use those characters if you're curious. Now that the numbers have been listed, I should also tell you that this would be 12 straight chapters of fight sequences and some interaction. So, I've decided to have Sky write in some break chapters to help break it up and allow for periods of rest. Hopefully you all will enjoy what's to come, especially because of some of the character's I'll be referencing. I won't say who but they'll be extraordinarily obvious as to what game they're from. Anyway, all story pulled characters will be referenced when revealed and as always, favorite…follow…review…have a good one guys! Cya :D**

**-Xera**

_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	29. The Coliseum

XSRA's Flame Chapter 29: The Coliseum

**Xera POV**

The rest of the week passed by without a second thought, as if it was blown away by some sort of autumn breeze. Which it kind of was, considering the tournament was putting students on edge. It approached quickly and now it's literally tomorrow.

Teams RWBY, JNPR, SNAR and my team were all sitting around in the library. Skyla, Yang, Allix, and Ruby were all playing some sort of game centered around the kingdoms of Remnant and waging war on one another. Ren and Nora were sitting together, Ren was reading and Nora was watching YouTube videos on her scroll. Pyrrha was running over some defense tactics with Jaune at another one of the tables. Talking about how he can utilize his shield to cover more of himself instead of just casually holding it in front of himself. Rex was strumming his guitar on a nearby couch, and Weiss was looking through the roster of who's in the tournament. How she got her hands on that list, nobody knows. Sun and Neptune were watching the game being played by the four girls with interest. Rideat and Anna were also finding who was in the tournament. Although Anna had to relay everything she read over Weiss's shoulder to him each time.

"Hey, Blake?" I asked, gaining her attention.

"Yeah?" She asked in a tired voice, enjoying her spot next to me on the couch.

"Do you want to head into town for a bit, just you and me?"

Blake opened her eyes and looked around, seeing who was doing what. Lastly she cast her glance at me, immediately causing me to get lost in her eyes.

"Just you and me, huh?" There was a certain softness in her voice. Maybe it was how comfortable she was or just her being her quiet self, but it was still as mesmerizing as ever.

I nodded, getting a small smile in return.

"Sure."

We got up and headed out of the library, taking the next bullhead out of Beacon.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

"What do you mean you have a trap card?!" I asked, or rather, yelled.

Yang looked as smug as ever, "It means that all you're armies just perished and I can take over all of Vacuo."

"Awwwwwwww, No fair! I liked hat city!" I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest childishly.

She chuckled and shook her head, "Face it, Skyla. You just lost to the master."

"I refuse to believe that until I see actual proof!" I shot back.

She casually flipped a card my direction and watched it flutter infront of me clearly showing the trap card she had used against my precious army.

"This is," I paused for dramatic effect making the others roll their eyes, "MAADDNEESSS!" I shouted at the top of my lungs causing them to jump and the librarian to shush me.

I blushed and giggled before sliding back into my seat.

She had pin point glasses and reminded me of that slug lady in Monsters Inc. Or was that just me?

I laughed out loud just imagining that monotonous slug walking around in the library. Ruby and Allix glanced up at me curiously.

"What's so funny?" Ruby asked, setting her deck of cards down on the desk.

I laughed harder. "The librarian reminds me…of…of-" I couldn't finish before I burst into a louder fit of giggles. The other girls giggled slightly seeming to be infected by my laughter.

The librarian wasn't as amused. She glared darkly my way, shushing as loud as she could.

Which, evidently, made me laugh even harder.

I forgot what made me laugh so much until it came back to me and now I was at the point where I could feel a six pack coming on.

"Skyla! What's so funny?" Allix asked.

"The Sluggg!" I choked out, face planting onto the table.

Yang leaned over close towards her red and black sister and whispered, "Do you think if we give her carrots she'll calm down?"

Ruby shrugged.

Yang nodded and reached down under the table and reappearing with a small bag of carrots and swiftly place it down in front of me, successfully stopping my endless laughter.

"Carrots!" I exclaimed pulling it close to me.

I set it down in front of me and place my elbows on top of it, facing the girls.

"Okay, so before you eat the carrots, you must massage them." I said pushing into the cards with all my strength 'massaging' them with my elbows.

After a few massages, two carrots suddenly burst through the bag and shot like a rocket out and off the table hitting Rideat square in the forehead.

He looked around confused and turned back to Anna who was currently covering her mouth in shock.

"What was that?" he asked.

I covered my mouth in shock as the other girls burst into laughter at the carrot rocket launcher.

After Anna calmed down, she said as calmly as she could, "A carrot."

"How did a carrot hit me in the forehead?" He asked looking around.

I laughed again even harder than before thinking back at how the carrots just rocketed out from the bag and hit Rideat in the forehead and poor Rideat was confused as heck!

Allix held up the carrot bag laughing her head off showing me the bottom of the bag all torn open by the carrots.

"How did you do this!?" She asked, amusement dancing on her face.

I shrugged, my face red from laughing. My cheeks were hurting from all the laughter but it didn't seem to stop.

"Hey, Hey wanna see something cool?" I asked.

"Cooler than a carrot rocket launcher?" Yang asked.

I nodded and took two strings from my sweatshirt and tied it to the round of the chair.

I yanked at it making sure it was firm before exclaiming, "It's a knot. I shall now escape magically!"

I then tried to stand expecting the knot to fall apart but instead I fell backwards yanked back by the knot.

"Glug!" I shouted in surprise landing onto chair.

I looked at the knot confused and yanked at it again but it stayed knotted.

I tried to unknot it but it was as if glued together.

"I can't get it untied! Help, I'm stuck!" I said pulling at the strings.

"I tied myself to the chair by mistake! Hallppp!" I said pulling with all my might at the strings.

Yang, Ruby, and Allix laughed before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Wait! Don't leave me here to die!" I said reaching out to them dramatically.

I tried pulling at the knot and then standing. I watched it come undone as I leaped up in joy.

"Tada! Magically escaped!" I said shooting my arms up. But of course, nobody saw it and were still doing whatever they were doing.

I sighed in annoyance, "Really? Nobody saw my awesome escape?"

"Shhhhh!" The librarian slug said once again with a mean glare.

"Shhhh yourself." I mumbled to myself.

"Exccusseee me?" She asked sassily.

I smiled innocently and ran off.

"_Oopsie. Didn't mean to say that out loud!"_

* * *

**Xera POV**

We were laughing as we walked away from the crowd. It's not everyday that comedians do shows in the middle of Vale.

"So, you wanna grab a bite to eat?" I asked.

We're on our way down one of the streets and our path should take us past a café.

"Alright, where do you want to go for food?" She asked as we turned the corner.

Right…about…here.

We stopped in front of a newly opened café. There was outdoor seating in its front patio and inside was quite small.

Blake read the small sign above the café doors, "How about here?"

"Works for me." I stated knowingly.

Entering the front door, we ordered a small amount of desserts and sat down at one of the outdoor tables. I bought us some cheese cake and a small chocolate cake drenched in some sort of chocolate sauce. We decided to share considering the calories.

"Okay, so I've been wondering…may I ask about what you've been doing in the forge room?" Blake asked after a few bites.

I looked at her and she seemed oddly trying really hard to be extra cute, making me struggle to hold in that information. "Well, it's a weapon modification…for Annivia's Talons…that'll be very helpful." I said vaguely.

She frowned at my response, immediately killing me on the inside. "So, in that case…can I ask three yes or no questions? And you have to be honest."

"_Oh, she's good. And three questions too, in my mind that's a lot of information. Maybe she'll be able to figure it out, let's give it a shot."_ I thought and smirked a little.

"Alright, shoot." I said.

We've finished off the small cakes and she looked to be contemplating what to ask first. Eventually she stared me down and asked her first question.

"Does it have to do with a more concentrated control of fire?" She asked.

I looked her over in disbelief. That was right on the money. "Yes." I said, a little hesitant to hear the next two questions.

She smirked to herself and immediately asked her next question. "Is it a new transformation?"

My god she's good.

"Maybe."

"That's cheating." She glared at me, confident in her information gathering.

I sighed. "Okay fine, yes. How are you so good at this?"

Then it dawned on me, how well can Ruby keep a secret. It's not that she's bad at keeping to herself, but I'm sure Blake would have ways to get her to talk. Especially if Yang backs her up, they are sisters after all.

"You talked to Ruby didn't you?"

She looked away a bit, breaking eye contact for just a second before she returned to my eyes, "Nope." I could tell she was lying. "Now, for my last question." This time though, she smirked and her eyes turned slightly devious.

"Do you hide wings under that sweatshirt?"

I was a little taken aback by this, no one in Beacon knows about me except for Ozpin and Rideat. _"Is it finally time to tell her, to tell my friends? I know they won't see me any differently, but that doesn't make it any easier."_

"I can't answer that." I responded, keeping a monotone voice and a straight face.

She frowned again, hoping that I would give off any hint as to what I am. I did tell her that my mother was a faunus, and she's definitely not clueless as to what that infers. So she know what I am, just not what kind.

"Well, you'll tell me when you're ready, only when you feel you can talk about it. Right?" She asked, kindness taking over in her amber eyes.

I smiled and nodded my head, but this brings me to my ulterior motive for getting Blake alone. I'm hoping for a positive response but I can't be sure, hopefully she'll understand.

"Blake?" I spoke, almost inaudible but her ears picked it up with ease.

"Hmm?" She responded.

I gave a cautious glance around, noticing all the people walking back and forth on the nearby side walk and the few people sitting at the other tables outside the café.

Standing up, I took her hand and pulled her back into the café. We approached the woman we bought our food from and I asked if we could get onto the roof. She was kind enough to show us the way up and give us some privacy. After stepping out into the brisk air, I looked out over the streets below then turned to her. She seemed a little worried.

"There's something I need to tell you before I tell the others. It does actually involve what you were asking earlier."

She took my hands in hers and gazed into my eyes, "Only if you want to tell me."

"I do."

Black smiled, something that doesn't occur often but is well worth its rarity. "Alright then."

"Well, it's about the tournament." I started.

She nodded and waited for me to continue.

The wind died down as if the world knew something was going on and wanted to listen in on our conversation. I could no longer hear the people below as everything grew quiet.

"And, well." I hesitated but continued, "It's also about my brother…"

* * *

**3rd Person**

_**(**Time Skip, that scene was important but will be revealed at another time**)**_

A new day dawned and Beacon Academy was bustling with energy. Students were already up and preparing for what was to come. My team being one of the first up, then we quickly gathered the other teams in our little circle of friends.

Teams RWBY and JNPR were up in no time. Apparently Ruby already had a plan to wake her teammates with the use of a little red whistle. _"Ouch, I feel bad for Blake."_

Jaune got his team up much more sensibly, and finally team SNAR, across the hall from us, was the last ones up and ready to go. We made our way out of Beacon and headed into Vale by airship. Landing and stepping out, we noticed something drastically different.

The entirety of Vale was nearly vacant. No one was on the street, the sidewalks were barren except for one or two people. But there was a certain anxiousness hanging in the air, enough so that it drew everyone's attention to the coliseum that towered over the buildings. The arena located deep in the center of Vale city.

"Eeeeek, isn't this exciting!" Ruby squealed, hugging her crescent rose as she jumped in her place.

"No kidding, we get to fight all kinds of people in the competition!" Yang exclaimed, also as excited as her younger sister.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Skyla yelled. Then Nora instinctively followed up with, "TO WAR!"

The two energetic girls charged off towards the coliseum, soon followed closely by Ruby and Yang, then a reluctant Weiss. "Hey, slow down or you won't be prepared for the Vale Champion Tournament!" She called out as she chased down her young leader.

Allix shrugged and started running as well, she was then followed by Anna and Rex, then also Sun and Neptune. Jaune and Pyrrha followed them and easily caught up to Rex and the others.

Rideat, Blake, and Xera exchanged glances. Well, if Rideat could even do that.

"I'm not running." Xera stated flatly.

Blake smirked and nudged his shoulder, "How about a race. That'll give you a reason to run."

Xera stood there, completely motionless but a smirk across his face. Rideat chuckled and shook his head before taking off. Three seconds passed before Blake realized what happened and cursed under her breath, taking off towards the distant group.

Xera still stood there, motionless for another 2 seconds before vanishing. The hologram expending its time. Xera smirked to himself as he was running well ahead of Blake and Rideat, almost able to trick them with his Deception ability.

Soon enough, they all made it to the coliseum in record time. Bursting through the large open doors and columns, they approached the front desk. Inside was an extremely tall room that was supported by numerous decorative columns. The floor was made of marble and the ceiling gave a magnificent arc in its shape.

"Hello, welcome to the Vale's Champion Tournament. I assume you're all here to participate?" The woman behind the front desk asked.

"Heck yeah, we're here to participate! What kind of group of pedestrians would run through those doors like idiots and geared with weaponry?" Xera stated, earning a couple giggle and chuckles from the group.

Even the woman behind the desk chuckled to herself as she showed the group to the competitor's room. There were refreshments set up and food available to everyone in the room. They were able to get the large room to themselves as there were multiple others for the other people who signed up. Vending machines were placed against the wall as well, along with a balcony that over-looked the stadium.

"Woah, guys check this out!" Skyla said in awe, looking out into the coliseum from the balcony.

The coliseum was huge, the stands that circled the central arena were filled to the brim with Vale citizens and the atmosphere was tense. People were still finding their seats and moving around, gathering food and drinks in preparation for the tournament. The center of the coliseum was a huge circular arena. The ground was covered in sand and columns stood around the edges of the arena floor. The sun was just peaking over the top of the tall walls and pillars, shining into the huge building and creating a beautiful sight to take in.

***Knock Knock Knock***

Xera turned to see Ruby dash over and open the door. Outside in the hall stood four other teens our age. One of them I recognized but the others were strangers to me.

"Oh, hey guys!" Skyla called from behind me, waving them in.

The four walked in, the Irish guy Ruby and I met earlier this week walked behind a white haired teen. He had purple eyes and was just as tall as the Irish one. He had a scar over his eye and a halberd strapped to his back, resembling a dragon. He wore black pants and a red shirt beneath a black vest.

Behind those two walked in another teen with short, brown hair. It was kind of parted on the right and slightly messy. He had green eyes with silver flecks in the colors. He also stood at around 6 feet tall, much like the two before him but slightly shorter, about an inch or so.

The green haired teen wore a grey zip-up hoodie over a green shirt and washed out jeans, along with green tennis shoes. On his back was a two-tone green and grey back pack with all kinds of pockets and compartments. Strapped to his backpack was some sort of double barreled rifle, with the dual barrels one over the other, not side by side.

Lastly walked in another guy but he wore a black and silver rove and hood. He had dirty blond hair and interesting eyes. One was blue and the other green. He was shorter than the rest but not by much, standing at around 5'9".

All of the guys were obviously human.

"Hey, we're in the room next door. We just wanted to meet some of the competition and it appears we are definitely in for a fight." The white haired teen spoke smoothly.

"Yup, there's Daemon for you." The guy in the hood spoke.

"Right, where are my manners. My name is Daemon Rasputin." He gave a bow and then turned to the Irish guy.

"My name's Patrick O'Harry, and did you guys know they don't have these rooms stocked with mead." He ended in a disappointed tone, turning his wooden mug upside down and watching as nothing fell out of it.

The boy in the robe spoke up next, "I'm Melvin Longfellow, and I was the one who hid the mead." He smiled, gaining a confused look from Patrick which quickly turned into a shocked glare.

Lastly was the green haired teen, "Hi, my name's Green Tsukayoshi."

"As in the color?" Nora asked.

He looked at her, then to Skyla for some reason then back to Nora. "Sure." He responded.

* * *

**And there we go, we're here. The tournament is being held in a magnificent Coliseum. I've always wanted to do that. Next chapter is where we start the battles and start our journey through the brackets I made for all the competitors. Officially, and off the record because things can always go wrong, there are 36 competitors. 10 of which are canon characters, the other 26 are all OC. Now that I just wrote that, man am I hyped for this! I never actually thought about it that way. Anyway, I seriously hope you guys will enjoy what we'll be putting out for this tournament. I can't even fathom how I'm able to remember all these OC's but it will undoubtedly be tons of fun to write. This has been Xera, **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	30. And Here, We, Go, Epic Explosions!

XSRA's Flame Chapter 30: And, Here…We…Go. *Epic explosions!*

**Xera POV**

"Wait, so why isn't Neptune fighting in the tournament?" Ruby asked Sun as he lounged on one of the many couches in the room.

"That's the thing, even I don't know why. He's got this thing going on where he's acting all mysterious and stuff, but in a cool way." Sun said with a wave of his hands, emphasizing cool. "So far, no one's actually seen him fight, except me of course." The monkey-faunus responded, ending with two thumbs up and pointing at himself.

I finished my ginger-ale just as someone knocked at the door, opening soon after by whoever was behind it.

"Excuse me, the tournament is about to begin. Please make your way down into any of the cue rooms on the ground floor." An official looking woman spoke before walking off, leaving the door open behind her.

Ruby got up and declared their next act of action, "Team RWBY, to the cue rooms!" She exclaimed, pointing a dramatic finger toward the door. Impressively, her team shot up and made their way out the door.

"Alright, mates. Let's be on our way." The guy named Daemon spoke.

His team left the room, and soon after the rest of us followed as well. We all gathered and walked down the stone stairs that circled towards the lower floors. We ended up in a large curved hallway with numerous doors and arches down its corridors. Team RWBY entered the 3rd cue room, Daemon's team walked into the 4th and my team decided to follow Ruby into her team's room. Teams JNPR and SNAR, minus the N, followed us as well.

Walking in we noticed two more people in the room as well, they must have been there before we decided to come in. The girl of the two had long black hair with a deep magenta ribbon roped through it, she wore a white button down shirt and what looked like a black, long sleeved shirt underneath the white one. She also wore faded purple shoulder covers and a skirt of the same color with white trim. On her back was a thin faded purple ribbon tied in a bow with the ends trailing down and hanging behind her thighs, and she wore black leggings and black, short heels. What really caught my eye were the two wolf ears atop her head.

Next to her stood a guy in black commando boots with white straps to fasten them, black jeans with a white belt strapped around his waist, his shirt was what looked like a black and pretty average look to it except for how it seemed to appear padded. Probably because there was most likely armor underneath it. On top of everything was a white trench-coat. He seemed to like the contrast colors of white and black considering his hair was onyx black with white frosted tips, it was spiked at the front but more tamed at the back. A scar ran down from the corner of his chin and reached from his cheek bone down and under to half way down his neck.

"_Ouch, wonder what kind of grimm did that to him."_

His pristean black eyes were flicking back and forth between all the people who just walked in, eventually landing on me and then to Ruby.

"Hey, guys. I guess you all decided to take lucky number 3 as well." The boy spoke.

I looked around and noticed Rex looking over the details of the guy's white trench coat, and looking to his own, almost as if he was comparing them.

"Hi, my name's Ruby. And this is my team from Beacon." The young leader spoke up, gesturing towards her companions, listing off each name as she went through.

Jaune awkwardly repeated her actions, avoiding eye contact with the strange girl as he did so.

"Sup, I'm Sun. And this is Rideat and Anna." Sun stated, both hands behind his head as he leaned back in a relaxed but prideful manor.

"And I'm Skyla!" My purple teammate exclaimed, "This mop here is my fearless leader and partner, Xera." I could literally feel my eyes transitioning to orange with embarrassment, but I got over myself as soon as Rex spoke up.

"Yup, best there is." He said, slamming a hand down on my shoulder. I shrugged him off, "Not that I don't like the praise, Rex, but I don't really like the praise. And I'm not the best…or fearless, Skyla." I explained.

I looked to the two strangers in the room, they exchanged looks before the guy spoke up. "Well, I guess it's only fair that I give you my name too. I'm Mordant, and this here is D. She-" He was cut off by a powerful kick to the shin, effectively shutting him up.

"Actually…" She interrupted, not seeming to care if she crippled her partner or not, "The name's Destiny. And if I hear anyone call me D, they're as good as dead." She deadpanned.

"She seems grumpy." Skyla whispered to me, though I'm not sure she entirely understands that faunus ears can easily hear what she said.

"I'm not grumpy, I just don't like to be called D. Especially from this moron over here." She emphasized her point by kicking him again.

"Wha! Seriously, I'm about to fight out there and you're breaking my leg already!" Mordant exclaimed, grabbing at his shin as he leaned against an arch.

The room itself was fairly large with stone walls and arches, most of the back wall was gone and instead, it opened up directly into the arena.

"Well, you're acting all grumpy and stuff and I don't like it. I bet I can get you to smile in no time." Skyla stated as she skipped up to Destiny.

"What are you-" She was interrupted as a quick hand found its way between her wolf ears.

I was watching this pan out with interest. That was until I saw Mordant wearing a terrified expression on his face as he watched too. He was slowly backing away from Destiny, weaving his way to the opposite wall of the room.

Although instead of hearing some sort of explosion or fit of rage, Destiny seemed to crack a small smile as she closed her eyes, allowing Skyla to pet her some more. Pretty soon she was cuddling into Skyla's actions as she sighed in some sort of blissful state.

"_Note to self, try that on Blake."_

We were all interrupted by an overly energetic voice bellowing through a loud speaker in the stadium.

"Welcome! Welcome all to the Vale's Champion Tournament and I hope you're as excited as I am! This year my good friend, and the head master of Beacon Academy, has told me that numerous students of his have signed up for this tremendous competition! He has personally explained to me that all of them have unbelievable skill and potential! Now, please welcome headmaster Ozpin and his assistant, Glynda Goodwich!" Across the arena floor to the opposite wall, a man in a reflective silver business suite stood with a microphone atop a tall balcony, shaded by red silk cloth from above. To his right and left, Ozpin and Glynda stepped forward into the sunlight as the citizens of Vale roared in cheers and applause.

The man handed our head master the mic as he took a step backward, "Thank you, Ashton, it is a great honor to have my students participate in your tournament. Now, I'll be sure to keep this brief so we can get started as soon as possible." His gaze passed over all the rooms that we were situated in, "I wish all of you competitors luck, do your best and fight well. I'll be watching each of you battle, and I plan to invite some of you into my academy, win or lose. My decision will be effected on how you act, react, and your potential. That is all." The audience exploded into some more cheers and applause as he stepped back and handed the microphone back to Ashton.

"Did you hear that folks! Some of you down there will be personally requested to join Beacon Academy! Can you believe that!" He made a wide gesture with his arms as he let the stands roar on, "NOW, WHO'S READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

* * *

**3rd Person**

"Our first match will be the best gambling card slinger himself, Gabriel Stryker! And his opponent, the beautiful fashion expert, COCO!" Ashton roared as two shadows walked into the arena from opposite entrances.

Gabriel stepped into the light of the glowing arena, purple eyes shaded behind a black cowboy hat. His shoulder length brown hair caught the breeze as his brown trench coat's ends pushed back a bit, revealing pinkish purple light body armor underneath. His metallic belt gleamed in the sunlight as his black gloved hands hovered above two small rectangular holsters at his waist. The gloves matched his black trousers that only made his metal knee and shin guards that much more prominent. He grunted as he exchanged looks with his opponent on the opposite side of the arena, deftly pulling out a playing card from one of his holsters and twirled it around between his fingertips, the back flashing and embedded with a yellow grim reaper.

Coco stood in all her glory, one hand on her hip while the other gripped her black shoulder bag, decorated with gold studs and held by a bandolier strap. Her sunglasses reflected the sunlight from under her black beret and short dark brown hair. It reached a little past her ears aside from her wavy locks on the right side of her face, the end turning red as you followed it down. Her cocoa-colored long shirt with a dark brown corset was complimented by her long dark brown trousers with ribbons on the left side and a black belt with bullets. Above it, she wears another cocoa-colored belt of bullets with a gold buckle that has a crosshairs buckle. What appears to be a drape of black skirt hangs on her right side along with a pair of dark brown high-heeled leather boots with buckles. A few black roses decorated her outfit as well.

"ARE YOU READY?!" Ashton yelled to the crowd and the competitors.

Gabriel gripped the tip of his cowboy hat and pulled it slightly down, purple eyes sparking with electricity through the shadow his hat provided. Coco only smirked and shifted her stance and tightened her grip on the strap to her shoulder bag. They were both growing anxious from the cheers and chants of the crowds.

Ashton grinned and the large screen above his booth burst to life, colors flashing and steadying out with a steady light blue. Gabriel's and Coco's pictures were displayed next to two tall green bars, allowing everyone in the stands and on the arena floor to see the aura levels of each competitor. Glynda stepped forward this time as Ashton handed her the microphone, "The rules are simple, when one competitor's aura level reaches red the match will be called at that moment. If one is to forfeit beforehand, then the other will be the victor. If anyone is to continue attacking after the official aura level is reached, they will be disqualified immediately."

She handed the mic over to Ashton and the screen flashed a large 5 overtop the information, "5!"

The number on-screen started counting down, "4!...3!...2!...1! Let the match BEGIN!"

Gabriel threw his golden card forward, slicing through the air as it sparked with purple electricity and kinetic energy. Coco swung her bag around and back-slammed the card, the impact causing the card to explode in a small electric pulse. _"Elemental cards,"_ Coco thought as she adjusted her glasses. _"They better not ruin my clothes."_

Coco and Gabriel met each other in the middle of the arena, constant explosions of all kinds of dust were batted away as they approached each other. Coco took the first swing and brought her bag downward, only for it to be side stepped. Gabriel quickly pulled two cards from opposite holsters, both gleaming red. He ducked a wide swing of the hand bag and threw them both forward, aiming for the window that opens with every swing. Coco grunted as the first hit her in the back but she slammed the second into the ground with a swift kick. Small flickers of flames emanated from where the first card impacted.

Getting a little angry, Coco sent another high kick toward Gabriel's head causing him to duck straight into her heavy shoulder bag, which was swinging upward with full force. The card slinger was knocked back several meters, flipping through the air and roughly landing on his feet with a stumble. In the next second, Coco's bag started to transform. A huge handle and metal drum expanded from the bag, large barrels shot out of the front of the gun and spun in increasing speed.

Gabriel stared down the spinning barrels of a huge gold and black gatling gun, rearing up and ready to unleash hell. He quickly pulled out a compacted black metal staff and extended it to be about 6 feet long. The crowd behind him was frantically scurrying out of the way of Coco's line of sight, stumbling and tripping over the stands in a chaotic flurry. Coco only smirked at this and pulled the trigger just as Gabriel spun his staff in front of himself.

"There's no way that'll save you!" Coco yelled as she sent a powerful stream of bullets his direction.

Gabriel's staff glowed with kinetic energy as it formed some sort of force field barrier, blocking the intense attack. "I can't keep this up for long." He cursed under his breath as he felt his energy draining with every second that he gets pushed back from the gatling gun.

Coco kept up her assault and continued firing, casting occasional glances up to the screen and watching Gabriel's bar slowly disappear.

***Click***

Coco cursed mentally as her gun clicked and the line of bullets ended. Gabriel surged forward and knocked away the barrel of Coco's gun, following up with a quick jab to the stomach then another that sent her skidding backward a small distance.

"Son of a-" Coco was interrupted by three ice blue cards impacting her chest and feet, freezing her in place.

Gabriel chuckled as he held a full deck in his hands, "It's been fun, but you just got beat."

Coco lifted her sunglasses as her eyes widened, watching as Gabriel's eyes sparked with purple electricity and the entire deck sparking in his hand. He leaped into the air and chucked the entire deck toward the stationary Coco. A huge elemental explosion filled the arena floor, kicking up sand and blinding light. Coco's aura level shot from high yellow directly to the red zone, ending the match.

"Gabriel Stryker is the victor!" Ashton exclaimed as the two below left the arena floor. "Gabriel will now move on into the next bracket with his next opponent still unknown. Now, our next battle will be the clash of the century! We have Ruby Rose, youngest scythe wielder in all of remnant in one corner, and her opponent, the hulking ax wielder Rex Tyro! I wonder who will win?! Will it be speed, or will it be brute strength?!"

Rex and Ruby stepped forward out of their opposite entrances, both already wielding their giant weapons of mass destruction. Ruby was visibly shaking, knowing full well what her opponent could do. This only fueled her excitement. Weiss could be heard cheering for Ruby, along with the rest of her team. How the small reaper could hear them over Skyla's cheering was beyond anyone's understanding, but she heard them none the less.

They both had the same idea as Ashton began his countdown, each of their weapons switching into projectile form as they started slowly walking toward each other.

"5!…4!…3!…2!…1! Begin!"

Electric arrows and bullets collided in the center of the stadium, barrages of small explosions sounded off as the two entered a full charge towards each other while still firing. Time seemed to slow as they switched into their giant weapon forms again and swung at each other. The impact of the clashing weapons sent both Ruby and Rex flying backward. Ruby recovered quickly but Rex on the other hand, being somewhat slow, smashed through a pillar before he got to his feet.

In a flurry of rose petals, Ruby charged forward and spun in the air, creating a deadly cyclone with her scythe. Rex dove to the side, barely dodging Ruby's attack. He sliced through a pillar with his ax in the middle of his dive, sending it toppling down toward the young reaper. Just before the crushing stone collided, she disappeared once again in a flurry of rose petals as she reappeared behind Rex, slashing him across the back before disappearing again.

Ruby kept up her assault, appearing all around Rex as he tried to block her attacks, only successfully parrying half of them. _"If I keep this up, he won't be able to use his rail gun."_ Ruby thought as she appeared at Rex's side, already bringing down her scythe.

Rex however, caught a lucky break and saw her in the corner of his eye. He swung his ax and knocked the scythe to the side before letting his swing continue, spinning him entirely around and slamming it into the smaller girl full force. The impact sent Ruby flying across the arena floor, slamming into the opposite wall. While she recovered, Rex took a knee and flooded his body with rage, pooling his eyes blood red. Duel-Elektro quickly shifting into its crossbow form and glowing blue with sparks of electricity. A high pitched noise echoed through the stands.

Ruby quickly scurried to her feet and got in a runners stance, waiting for the right moment to take off.

***BOOM!***

A blinding beam of blue energy shot from Rex's weapon straight toward Ruby, _"NOW!"_ She screamed in her head as she took off behind the pillars to her right. This attack seemed different though, usually it's one quick burst and then it's over. However, this one's still going! Rex followed Ruby with his now pulsing blue laser, slicing through every pillar the beam passed through and turning them to rubble. Ruby was counting in her head how long he could keep this up. After about 6 seconds, the beam weakened and his weapon felt heavy in his hands as he noticed his aura in the low yellow.

Ruby smirked and turned directly around, running through the rubble at full speed. The rocks, large and small, dragged across the ground and took flight. Ruby stormed through each of the piles of rubble and then stepped onto the arena wall to keep up her speed. Now running around the wall, she circled back toward where Rex kneeled on the opposite end. A hurricane of stones followed brutally behind Ruby as she bulleted towards him.

Leaping off the wall, she shot towards the ax wielder in a blur, going so fast that she seemed to take flight with her red cloak. Rex just groaned and flooded himself with whatever rage he had left in a last ditch attempt of protection. Ruby passed him and skidded to an instant halt right in front of the wall, the force she stopped with cause the entire wall behind her to impact and crack, forming a crater. She then leapt into the air as the stones that were behind her still flew full speed toward the unfortunate Rex.

"Oh, here…we…go." He said, almost sounding exhausted.

He batted away what he could but the flurry of stones was over-whelming him, almost as if it was a never ending torrent of wind and debris. Which, it kind of was. His aura took a drastic plunge while he pushed his way out of the impressive attack, dropping into the red. Ruby stood victorious, her aura still sitting in the high yellow.

"AND WE HAVE A WINNER! Clearly speed came out on top of this one here folks! Please give it up for _the_ one…_the _only…RUBY ROSE!" Ashton exclaimed, the crowd roaring to life.

Glynda flicked her wand and everyone watched with wondrous expressions as the arena rebuilt itself, the pillars reforming and the cracks in the stone walls sealing themselves up again. Ashton leaned towards her slightly and commented, "Aren't you glad we chose a stone coliseum instead of a more modern one, beautiful?" He smirked, only to receive a piercing glare from her. Ashton recoiled a little and continued with his next introduction, trying to act busy and out of her way.

"A-alright ladies and gentleman, this next match will be an interesting one indeed. In one corner, we have a mysterious visitor who appeared out of nowhere, his name remaining unknown. And over here, we have his opponent, a powerful dust mage in the robe, Melvin Longfellow!"

Melvin walked out of the shade with his hood down and his hands at his sides, no weapon in sight. The mysterious teen at the opposite walls remained in the shadow of the doorway, a white cloak with black trim covered most of his body. He wore casual black jeans and equally black shoes. Under his hood, a white mask covered his face but you could just barely make out two piercing blue eyes from behind the visor. Strands of white hair cascaded down slightly in front of the mask.

"Alright, let's do this thing! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! Fight!"

_White greaves and gauntlets formed around the masked teen's hands and feet, but he didn't move from his spot. Melvin stared at his opponent across the arena, "He chose to use melee weapons, why in all of remnant start with those at this kind of distance."_

Melvin's robe started to riffle as the wind around him picked up, his eyes glowed slightly and enhanced their colors. The tattoos on his hands and palms started to glow white, emanating from the center of his palm and expanding outward.

The mage cocked one hand back and shot it forward, sending a white bolt of energy toward the cloaked teen. But the teen made no effort to dodge it, instead he charged it head on and cocked his fist back. The masked opponent sent his armored fist straight through the beam, causing a chain explosion on impact. Melvin was slightly shocked that this guy would be crazy enough to do that, but what really got him was the fact that it looked to have done no damage at all.

The aura meter next to the hooded masked face on the screen was still solidly in the green, not having moved a centimeter at all. Melvin slammed his hands together and focused on building up another, stronger attack. A ball of swirling flames formed between his hands as he expanded it, growing it to be about the size of a large basketball.

The wind picked up again as the ball of fire grew brighter, causing his robe to blow back in a dramatic effect. Melvin then pushed his hands forward, causing himself to skid backward a few feet as the ball of fire surged forward. The cloaked teen just sent a powerful kick into the attack, causing it to explode in a torrent of fire. The force of the kick was powerful, causing the flames to push past and around his cloak as he held his foot there, only bringing it down when the last of the flames past harmlessly by.

"Whoa, how'd you get so powerful?!" Melvin exclaimed, forcing more aura into his palms as they both glowed red.

"Long story." Was all his opponent spoke before dashing forward, Melvin barely had time to complete what he was doing and formed two red sabers in his hands made of pure energy and dust. He used them to block the high kick that was sent straight for his head, then the real fight began.

Melvin was blocking as much as he could with his sabers, parrying and side stepping barrages of powerful kicks and punches from his opposition. Now that he was up close though, Melvin finally noticed something attached to the gauntlets and greaves. There were white blades at the calves and ulnas. And they were glowing with aura.

Melvin was pushed back by a powerful kick, pushing his aura further into the yellow. _"This guy means business. Wonder why he's in a tournament like this." _He thought as he ran forward, taking the offensive this time.

The cloaked teen deftly blocked each swing of Melvin's sabers, easily counter attacking between every strike further pushing Melvin's aura lower into the yellow. _"Is he just messing with me?"_

Just as he thought that, his opponent finally used one of his blades on his gauntlets and sliced through both red sabers. Melvin's eyes widened as the constant current was broken and his steady control of the beams was lost. This resulted in a red explosion of light and Melvin flying backward towards the wall behind him, aura entering the red. The cloaked teen disappeared in a blur and darkstepped into Melvin's collision path, catching him before impact and pushing him to his feet before walking off.

"Umm, thanks?" Melvin said.

"Don't mention it." His voice was slightly muffled by his mask but you could easily tell that the guy under the cloak was around 17 or 18.

Ashton and the crowd were stunned by whatever just happened in the arena. "Well, that was one show of power! Did you guys see that?!" Ashton yelled, getting the citizens of Vale to break out of their shock and cheer once again. Ozpin stood in the shadows, sipping from his mug as he watched the masked teen disappear into the corridors. "He seems interesting." He muttered to Glynda.

"Indeed. My scan's weren't able to read anything from him." She said, typing away at her scroll.

Ashton moved on to the next introduction as Melvin walked back to his team's cue room.

"Dude, you did great!" Patrick exclaimed, patting Melvin on the shoulder and taking a swig from his wooden mug.

"Not really. I didn't even stand a chance." The robed teen spoke, but smiled anyway. "That guy. There's just something about him. Almost as if he didn't actually want to fight me but he had to in order to move on."

Daemon stepped up and placed a steady hand on Melvin's other shoulder, "You still fought well out there. And I doubt that any of us could take him on either."

Over in cue room number 3.

"Did you guys see that?!" Skyla exclaimed.

Rex was leaning heavily against a pillar, still somehow being barraged with apologies from a certain red reaper. To which he constantly said to her not to worry about it.

"I didn't just see it, I felt it." Xera said with Blake attached to his arm.

"Yeah, no kidding." Yang added, "He had some nice gauntlets. Now that I've seen them, I really want to push through this first round and hopefully take him on in the next bracket!"

Rideat was busy going over what he had seen himself, but in reality, he was trying to push whatever he saw out of his mind and as far away as possible. _"Something's not right here, not with that guy."_ He thought as the rest of his group prepared for who Ashton might call up next.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

"_Blakey finally finished that book so now it's my turn. Well, it's been my turn for the last two days now."_ I thought as I lounged on one of the couches in the cue room.

I'm reading it because the authors, yes that's right authors, are actually engaged and I really want to read they're book.

Wait, hold up!

I cast a glance at the only two strangers in the room. Mordy and D were busy talking with the rest but there's just something about them that I couldn't figure out.

Looking back at the book in my hands, then glancing at them, then back to the book, then back to them.

Wait a second!

…

"_Meh, too much thinking, my imagination must be playing tricks on me. Stupid brain. I could've sworn I've seen them before. Oh well, back to reading 'Of Flesh and Stone!'"_

* * *

**Boom, boom, and boom. The first three matches of the bracket are out and I hope they came out okay. Please let me know your thoughts, it'll really help. Now, as for that mystery character, can anyone guess who he is? He's only used one of his weapon modes so far, so I wonder if that was enough for someone to pick up on his true identity. Mordant and Destiny are characters from another fanfic written by two friends of ours. They're also co-writing a story, just like us but way better. They do a great job and they've created one of my favorite stories, ****'Of Flesh and Stone'****, written by ****xxnachomaniacxx**** and ****demonic1556**** (yes, I know, I've said that before). That's where Mordy and D come from xP. And as for Gabriel, he just so happens to be an OC that I based off of Gambit and Twisted Fate. Cool right? Anyway, Gabriel Stryker is currently starring in a fellow-author's story that needed an extra OC. ****'The Baz'**** is currently writing ****'Ashes and Dust'**** with Gabriel as the leader of an OC team. How awesome is that?! The Baz also is the owner of the OC, Rideat. So I guess we kind of just exchanged OC's or something like that. I hope that these battles were to your liking, because there's so much more to come. This has been Xera…**_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

**...**

**P.S. The next chapter will have more than just 3 fights in it, I promise. :)**


	31. I Love This Song!

XSRA's Flame Chapter 31: I Love This Song!

**3rd Person**

Ashton stood tall on the announcer's balcony, ready to announce the next competitors. Everything was already getting tense and everyone felt it. No one has ever felt more alive than this tournament has made them feel. It's exhilarating, unpredictable, skill worthy, intense, sweat breaking, battle raging, and above all…it's fun.

"Alright guys, you ready?" Xera asked.

Glynda has been sending messages to the scrolls of who's about to go up and who will be next as a way of preparing the students. Allowing them time to head down to the competitor entry tunnels and be announced into the arena. At the moment, two girls of the crew were hyped and rearing to go.

"You bet on it, silly! Of course I'm ready. I WAS BORN READY!"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The two responded before heading out of cue room 3. One of which decided that it would be faster, and more impressive, to skip down to her tunnel. The other, of course, walked down to her's.

"WHO'S READY FOR THE NEXT MATCH!?" Ashton yelled, the stands yelling back.

"ALRIGHT! Next up, we have the deadly accurate and silent archer, plus a die-hard music lover, ALLIX STOWE! And her opponent of quite the opposite, well…everything! She's the pink bubbly bomber of her team, it's NORA VALKYRIE!"

Allix stepped out into the sunlight, her bangs cascading over her eyes as she hesitantly glided her hand across her hair-braid. Her other hand tightly gripping her bladed bow, Kryptonite's Arrow. _"Wow, that's definitely a crowd."_ She peered up at the stands, shying away from the chants and cheers.

_She glanced to her right and caught a glimpse of Xera trying to get her attention. Staring at him, she noticed he was motioning for her to place something on her ears. "Oh, I completely forgot about those. They're so comfortable I forgot they were even still around my neck!" Allix gave a silent thank you to Xera. Then she grabbed the head-phones around her neck and placed them on her ears, her favorite playlist already playing and calming her nerves. "I'm ready."_

Nora skipped out of the shadows of her tunnel with a spring in her step. "HI REN!" She called out with a wave to her silent cheerer, who just subtly nodded her way in response.

"Oh, do we have a love relationship going on here?!" Ashton asked over the mic.

Nora's eyes widened immensely as she hastily shook her head and hands no towards the balcony, "No, nononono, we're not together-together! Just, you know, friends!"

Ashton looked between the two in question, noticing the blush on both they're faces despite Ren being under the shadow of the cue room. "If you say so."

"Now, here we go! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! FIGHT!" Ashton called out, springing the two competitors into action.

Allix cranked her music up and charged in, firing arrows to the beat of her music. Nora quickly extended Magnheld into its hammer form and swung through each arrow, smashing them aside as she advanced towards the archer.

The two collided in the center, Allix broke her bow into its duel swords form and blocked a wide swing from Nora. The hammer wielder used the ricochet from the block and swung the opposite direction, completely spinning around and slamming her hammer toward the archer again.

Allix ducked under the swing and kicked out Nora's legs, slashing down as she fell toward the ground. But Nora pulled the trigger on Magnheld and sent out a small pink explosion, forcing the hammer backward and slamming into Allix's side as soon as her swords reached her chest.

Allix was thrown to the side by the impact, clutches at her side from the unpredictable attack. She slammed her swords back together and unleashed a barrage of arrows towards Nora.

Thinking quickly, Nora spun in her place on the ground and turned that momentum into a spring into the air, using her hammer for an extra boost. Allix targeted her in the air and shot a well-placed arrow into Nora's gut, freezing her entire waist area.

"GAH! It's so cold, why did you have to use an ice arrow?!" Nora exclaimed as she landed with a thud and tried to smash at the ice with her hammer, only to receive a fire arrow to the same spot.

"That'll help you out!" Allix called after releasing that fire arrow. It collided with the ice around Nora in a burst of fire and flames, shattering the ice instantly and causing some wicked damage.

Nora bound to the side and switched to her grenade launcher, sending pink grenades Allix's direction. Allix shot the grenade's half-way and blew them up in the air. A flurry of pink and red explosions littered the arena as constant concussions sounded with each impact.

Nora, deciding it was finally time, took out the drum of her precious boom-boom launcher and replaced it with a special drum. This one had pink skulls and explosions painted on it as a sadistic smirk crossed her lips.

Allix sent another arrow toward Nora but it was angrily smashed out of the air by Nora swinging her grenade launcher into it. Then spinning fully around, she took aim at the archer and fired one of her special grenades.

The pink and black grenade didn't initially go very far, it bounced off the ground a few feet in front of Nora. But it continued bouncing forward towards Allix, quickly reaching her target within 4 bounces. On the 5th bounce, it exploded into 10 more smaller pink grenades as they dispersed all around where Allix stood.

Nora watched as a magnificent explosion of pink swallowed up the archer. Glancing up she noticed Allix's aura was now really low in the yellow and was almost to the red, then noticed her's was still mid-yellow.

"Let's end this thing!" Nora exclaimed as she unleashed 4 more of those deadly grenades, completely going over-kill.

Allix heard the bouncing through the explosions and dove to the side, saving herself from a world of pain. She rolled to her feet and cranked up the volume on her head-phones to max. Allix ran in a wide arc toward Nora as she dodged 4 more of those nasty grenades.

Taking 3 long steps, Allix leaped into the air and tossed her head-phones towards Nora, using her semblance to throw it perfectly in order for it to reach its mark. Nora watched in confusion at this, only to snap out of it when the head-phones latched onto her head and around her ears, instantly tightening upon impact.

"WHOA! THIS IS REALLY LOUD- OH WAIT…I LOVE THIS SONG!" Nora yelled, completely disoriented from the battle around her.

Allix took this moment to quickly form 3 small read glyphs in front of her, each one lined up horizontally. They all started to spin unbelievably fast as she notched 3 arrows, spacing them out with her fingers to align with each glyph.

Nora finally saw what she was doing but it was too late, Allix unleashed her arrows and they passed through their respected glyphs. Each arrow instantly duplicated into 3 more as they all narrowed in on Nora's position. In an instant, 9 arrows collided with Nora as they all exploded in some sort of red flash of light, dropping Nora's aura well into the red.

"AND THE WINNER IS ALLIX STOWE!" Ashton exclaimed, the stands erupting in cheers and chanting Allix's name.

Allix walked up to Nora after the flash died down, gently plucking her head-phones off of the bubbly bomber. "I love that song too, it's my favorite." She said simply as she helped Nora back to their cue room.

"Our next battle will be one fit for legends! We have the champion of champions and unbelievably talented PYRRHA NIKOS! Her opponent is a legend of strength, a gladiator of modern times, a sculpted champion of his own, he's known as PANTHEON!"

A muscular teen walked out of the shadows, the sunlight gleaming off of his bronze shield with silver rims. His silver helmet shadowed his face completely, only allowing the orange glow of his piercing eyes. The helmet atop his head, in all honesty, looked like it had a red mo-hawk going from the top to down the back of his helmet. He had sleeveless bronze armor on and a gladiator skirt that was well armored above his bronze armored boots. His faded dark blue cape pushed back dramatically as he pointed his long iron spear at his opponent.

Pyrrha's red hair blew around in the wind as she looked her opponent up and down. She extended Milo into its spear form and held her shield, Akouo, in her other hand.

"Who's ready for a good old SPARTAN EXTRAVAGANZA!?" Ashton exclaimed, "5!...4!...3!...2!...1! BEGIN!"

Pyrrha and Pantheon took off towards each other, colliding head on in the center of the arena. Spears smashing into shields as she bounced backward. Pyrrha spun around and slashed diagonally upward, slashing at his armor. Pantheon tried to follow up with a lunge of his spear only to watch it just barely miss Pyrrha's head.

He grunted as he swung again, only for his swing to just barely graze over Pyrrha's armor as she spun around and sent a heavy kick into his chest.

"Polarity." Pantheon grunted, stepping back and circling his opponent.

Pyrrha shrugged and pivoted in place, following him as he circled around her. She held out shield in front of herself, ready for anything. Pantheon yelled as he somehow threw a flurry of small spears towards Pyrrha, multiple ones struck her armor as she deflected the rest.

Pantheon followed up with a quick shield bash, pushing her back a bit as he lunged his spear forward. Pyrrha snapped her head to the side and avoided the attack, then flipped around the handle of his spear while switching Milo into rifle form. After gracefully landing on her feet, she took aim and fired a quick shot into the side of Pantheons helmet.

Pantheon reared back and ducked behind his shield as more shots came his way. He blocked numerous bullets before Pyrrha attacked him again, this time with her spear again. Pyrrha lunged Milo towards her opponent's chest, but it collided with a glowing yellow glyph and knocked her back from the attack.

She skidded to a stop and watched as 3 yellow glyphs were circling around Pantheon's body, acting as a magical shield from any attack.

"Impressive." She admitted, getting a satisfied and prideful grunt in return.

Pantheon then fell down to one knee as the light grew stronger and the sand around him started to swirl. The wind picked up and blew his cape around dramatically as the sand picked up speed around him. Suddenly, Pantheon leapt into the air with immense power, the ground beneath him shattering and impacting as he pushed off.

Pyrrha lost sight of him in the sun as he plummeted down with full force. He collided into the ground directly in front of her, sending out an immensely powerful shockwave of golden energy emanating from the spot he landed on. The force knocked Pyrrha off her feet as she blocked a flurry of spears from striking her.

Pantheon lunged forward with his spear, this time making contact with Pyrrha's body and sending her tumbling backward. But she quickly recovered and threw her shield at Pantheon's head. It bounced off his face with power and pushed him back a bit. Pyrrha followed up with another horizontal slash with Milo and then kicked his legs out.

Her shield flew back into her hand as she brought it down onto Pantheons head, bashing him further into the ground. The crowd around her cheered as Pantheon's aura levels just entered the red zone.

"THERE WE HAVE IT FOLKS! PYRRHA NIKOS HAS CLAIMED VICTORY!" Ashton yelled from his spot.

Pyrrha put away her weapons and extended a hand to Pantheon, who was still embedded into the ground. He accepted it and got pulled up to his feet instantly, then he placed his spear and shield onto his back.

"Good match Pantheon. You fought well." Pyrrha spoke with an honest and polite smile.

"You too." His helmet gave his voice a slight echo.

They walked back to their cue rooms and Ashton prepared to call the next fighters.

"Hey, good luck. You got this." Xera said with a smile and a thumbs up.

Blake gave him her infamous smirk and received a quick hug from her boyfriend. Xera slipped her two extra ammunition clips that had strange color's to them. "Here, I think they're ready for use. I had Weiss help me build them." He said to her.

She smiled, "Thank you, I'll try them out. Remind me to get you a gift after this is all good and done." Then she quickly disappeared down the corridors and towards the dark entry tunnels.

"Folks, our next match up will have you off your seats! In one corner, we have the mysterious and quiet, ever alluring beauty that prefers shadows and books! Sorry guys, but she's taken! She's BLAKE BELLADONNA! Her opponent? He's the gunman and leader of his team, a king among men, TAI BLACKTHORNE!"

Tai walked out of his tunnel, standing tall as his thin statue gave him an impressive appearance. The long black hair with purple streaks cascaded down his back as he looked to his opponent. His black pants complimented his purple long sleeved shirt that seemed to brighten in the sunlight. A black, sleeveless trench coat with fur trim covered his upper body and his black boots completed his appearance. There was some sort of animal pelt slung on his back that gleamed in the light.

Blake stepped forward with light steps, eyeing down her opponent as they waited for the match to be called. She gripped Gambol Shroud's handle over her shoulder as she watched as Tai waited patiently.

Ashton's eyes lit up as his time to yell again was now upon him, "ALRIGHT! HERE WE GO! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! FIGHT!"

Blake and Tai ran forward. Blake pulled Gambol Shroud off her back but left it's sheath on, it's just as sharp as the sword inside it. Tai held out his hands as two black pistols fell into them from some sort of portal above his hands.

Tai fired a barrage of shots as they continued to run at each other, Blake swung in front of herself as she slashed each individual bullet away before they collided in the center. Tai slid on his knees under Blake's swing, smacking one of his pistols into her leg as he passed by.

Blake reacted quickly and swung her sword horizontally towards him, one hand on the handle while the other was placed on top of the blade. As she slashed toward him, she pulled the sheath off and quickly slashed with that as well.

Tai tumbled to the side as he dropped his pistols into another set of portals before catching two mini-Uzis that fell from the ones above. Blake's eyes widened as he took aim at her.

Blake leapt backwards as a shadow of herself was left in her place. But this wasn't her usual shadow, this one was made of stone. It quickly crumbled to pieces from the onslaught of rapid fire bullets as Tai fired. Once the statue fell to the ground, Tai took aim again towards the area behind it only to find that Blake wasn't there. Instead, he felt a sharp pain across his back as he stumbled forward.

Blake followed up with a couple more quick slashes. The last few were blocked by an assault rifle that fell into Tai's hands, the Uzis from before quickly disappeared into more portals. Blake kicked off from another shadow, this one was made of fire and instantly exploded directly in front of Tai.

The tall teen tumbled forward, through the flames and rolled to his feet. He quickly took aim and fired at Blake from a crouching position. The assault rifle kicked up as he kept his sights on her, keeping even control over the recoil of every shot.

Blake's aura took a few hard hits before she was able to react. She shadow stepped sideways and kicked off of an icy shadow, pushing herself into a wide sprint around Tai. She slashed away numerous bullets as she closed the distance.

Tai's gun clicked right as she was steps away, signaling that he needed to reload or switch out. Blake swung both her swords down onto Tai, he blocked the attack as best he could with his assault rifle. But Blake sent a swift kick into his chest and followed up with another shadow, this one exploded in a large ball of power.

Tai was sent flying backward, tumbling and bouncing off the ground before colliding with a pillar. Blake switched Gambol Shroud into its piston form and tossed it to the side, a black ribbon extending from it. She gripped it and leapt into the air, spinning it as fast as she could sending a flurry of slashes towards Tai.

He dove to the side, still slightly dazed from the explosion as he watched the pillar he once leaned against crumble from a storm of swipes.

Running behind the pillars, Tai switched out his current gun for his ultimate back up. A giant sniper rifle fell heavily into his hands as he ran, its size rivaling an RPG. "Welcome to the fight, King Slayer." Tai spoke, pride eminent in his voice.

After passing another pillar, he skidded to a stop on rolled to the ground. He quickly set the cross-hairs onto Blake and pulled the trigger. Blake shadow stepped to the side, watching as the ice shadow she left behind shattered in an icy explosion of fragments.

She shadow stepped again, this time watching as another huge bullet collided with her stone shadow, blowing it to kingdom come. _"I have to get up close!"_ Blake told herself as she shadow stepped around the pillars towards Tai.

Tai was already skidded back into the wall from the few shots that he fired, his shoulder aching from the power of the kick in King Slayer. Blake delivered a flurry of slashes into Tai's chest, only successfully blocking a few of them but his aura was dropping fast.

Tai smacked the swords away with the barrel of his sniper and pressed the stock of the gun into Blake's gut before pulling the trigger. The sheer force of the kick sent Blake flying and brought her aura into the red.

"AND THERE WE HAVE IT FOLKS! TAI BLACKTHORNE IS THE WINNER!" Ashton exclaimed, arms extended.

Blake clutched at where the gun kicked into her, it already forming a bruise despite her aura's protection. She opened her eyes to see Tai extending his hand to her, no sniper in sight.

She hesitantly took it and he helped her up before helping her over towards the exit tunnels.

"Sorry about that. It was kind of a last minute decision." Tai spoke sheepishly.

"Nah, don't worry about it. It'll heal." She responded, though it hurt to talk.

They met up with Xera in the exit tunnel as he took over and helped her to their cue room, Tai waving goodbye as he walked towards his own.

"OUR NEXT MATCH WILL BE AN INTERESTING ONE INDEED! In one corner, we have the gunman of team Juniper, the aura master and silent partner to a bubbly bomber, LIE REN! His opponent is the black and white fighter, the yin and yang slasher, he's MORDANT ZURCADER!" Ashton announced, watching as the two competitors stepped out of their entry tunnels.

Mordant stepped forward, his white trench coat kicking back by the wind of the stadium. A glimpse of numerous daggers could be seen lining the inside of it. He stepped forward and extended his claws from his hands, ready to fight.

Ren looked across the arena to his opponent, now realizing that he was up against a faunus. Two green bladed pistols shot out of his large sleeves as he prepared to fight as well.

"ALRIGHT! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! LEZ DO THIS THING!" Ashton exclaimed.

Ren glided gracefully forward, shooting towards his opponent. Mordant quickly whipped out his trench knives and slashed away the flurry of bullets. He charged forward as Ren continued his own charge, the two clashing daggers as they met.

Mordant ruthlessly slashed away towards Ren, who was able to block most of the attacks but the speed behind them was beginning to overwhelm him. The gunman jumped backwards and shot his guns towards Mordant again.

Mordant rolled to the side and aimed his daggers at Ren. The blades shot out at the speed of a bullet and exploded against Ren's chest. The impact's causing Ren's aura to drop into the yellow. The faunus quickly reached into his trench coat and reloaded two more blades into his trench knives, these ones were sparking with electricity.

Ren reloaded his guns while this was happening and charged in, slashing towards Mordant again. Mordant blocked the attack and sent a small jolt of electricity when he did so, slightly electrocuting Ren. The gunman pulled back slightly but slashed with his other gun across Mordant's chest, and at the same time pulling the trigger and sending a couple bullets point blank into Mordant's aura as well.

The faunus's aura took a serious drop from this but he bit through the pain as he slashed Ren with his claws, tossing his blade in the air as he did so. Ren recoiled from the slash straight into another slash from Mordant's other claws. Stepping backwards Ren was about to fire back when Mordant spun on his heel and caught both his trench knives from the air, then quickly firing both blades into Ren's chest.

The blades impacted in an electric explosion, pushing Ren's aura into the red. Unfortunately, his family's aura isn't the best for tournament styled matches thanks to its small pool. But its regeneration ability works great in any other situations.

"BOOM! I guess Mordant came out on top in this one folks!" Ashton exclaimed, pointing a dramatic finger down to the white and black teen.

"Nice hit." Ren stated.

"Really? I just sorta spun around and fired blindly. I actually got really lucky with that one." Mordant responded sheepishly, putting away his knives and retracting his claws.

Ren's pistols disappeared up his sleeves again as the two left the arena.

Ashton spun on stage energetically before striking some sort of pose to introduce the next competitors, "NEXT UP WE HAVE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! Over here, she's the beautiful lone wolf of her team, one of the most powerful mages there is with a daring secret, she's DESTINY ECHOLS! Across the way, we have the knight in shining armor, a brute of power, GARREN!"

Destiny stepped out of the entry tunnel, his black hair gently being pushed around by the wind. A white book floated from her side and took its place to her right.

"I don't think we need any familiars for this battle Albus. This guy's just an armored idiot." She deadpanned as her opponent stepped out into the sunlight.

The guy was covered head to toe in thick silver and gold armor. His shoulder guards were embedded with some sort of blue as well. Despite his heavy duty armor, he lacked a helmet which only let his short brown hair riffle in the wind. His blue cape blew behind him and revealed a massive claymore in his hand. The sword was huge, the handle was gold and black and the hilt had a golden design to it. The shield guard was intricate with gold and blue stones, and the blade had designs carved into the reflective metal.

"BOOM, LEZ GO! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! FIGHT!"

Garren surged forward, despite his heavy armor and bulking size, he moved with speed. He reached Destiny in record time and swung his massive sword horizontally. Destiny easily ducked the swipe and side stepped the next. She easily avoided his wide attacks and kicked him in the chest, pushing him back a bit.

Garren stepped backward a bit and started spinning wildly in a circle, turning himself into a bladed tornado. Destiny got hit by the first swing but leapt backwards and avoided the rest of the attack. Soon, Garren stopped his attack and brought his massive sword down onto her, but only striking the sand again.

His claymore embedded itself into the sand as Destiny jumped into the air, sending a swift kick into his face. He angrily pulled his sword free and spun it around, attempting to strike Destiny on the return trip. But just like last time, his attack missed.

At this point, Destiny was pretty much messing with him. Not even using a weapon to fight. Garren charged in again and swung angrily, the first swipe missed but he followed it through and brought it down again slashing across Destiny's stomach. She jumped back a bit as her aura kicked in to heal the gash.

He smirked to himself after he landed that hit.

"Yeah, don't get too excited big boy. You won't be touching me again." Destiny stated.

This only provoked Garren and he charged in yelling, his claymore growing in size immensely as he leapt into the air. A giant sword pierced the clouds from above Destiny and it hurled itself right down towards her at blinding speed. Garren brought down his sword just as it descended straight…onto…where Destiny was just standing.

A pair of wolf ears peaked around the massive blade followed by an annoying smirk. She really knows how to get on someone's bad side.

The sword soon disappeared and Garren spun again, heading towards Destiny. She jumped the swing and kicked off of the flat of the blade, getting even higher to place another powerful kick into Garren's head.

Garren stopped his spin only to receive 2 more kicks then fell to the ground thanks to another kick pulling his legs out from under him. Destiny picked up Garren's sword and twirled it around a little bit before slashing down onto the downed knight. He rolled over and tumbled to his feet, staring angrily at the one who stole his weapon.

She, however, was cracking up at this point. Deciding to end this absurd fight, Destiny spun and threw Garren's sword towards his chest. He moved aside and caught his sword by the handle and made a fast swing toward the wolf-faunus.

Destiny jumped over the swing and round-house kicked him in the only un-armored part of his body again, her shoe effectively colliding forcefully into his face and dropping his aura into the red.

"PFFT, I GUESS DESTINY WAS THE WINNER BEFORE THIS MATCH EVEN STARTED! This goes to show that brute strength is definitely not the way to go!" Ashton was dying at this point, hunched over and laughing at whatever joke just occurred in the arena.

Destiny soon walked back into the cue room, being congratulated for her easy win.

Xera leaned up against the wall thinking over what happened in the arena. No one can be that fast to react against those attacks, some of the swings weren't even fully visible. And she perfectly timed one to even jump off of the blade. _"Something's up. No faunus can move like that, it has to do with her semblance. But what is her semblance?"_ He questioned himself as the rest of the crew awaited the next match.

* * *

**Alright, I'll be honest. That was a direct jab at Garren from League of Legends, and I apologize if it offended anyone at all. Honestly, his character is fun and actually really well designed. Unfortunately I, through personal experience, have only come across those annoying people who play Garren. Most of the time they hide in bushes and Ult people then spin like idiots while screaming. Also, Tai Blackthorne was submitted by ****Arrix****, author of ****'The Adventures of Team TGSN'****. There's so much more to his character so check out Arrix's fanfic. Anyway, there was also Pantheon. I like that guy. Hopefully you guys enjoyed these battles, I'm hesitant about how some of them came out. Yeah, this has been Xera…**_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

_**Editor's Note: Hey guys. You might be wondering as to who I am. Well, I'm the mass editor for this story. I edit all chapters before they get submitted to Fanfiction or Wattpad. I'm the sister of both the author and the co-author of XSRA. The character Allix was based on me. Etc. I'm not going to write many notes to you guys. That's the authors' job. So yeah…I hope you guys are enjoying the story and keep enjoying it. Your support is amazing and so are the OC Characters that you submit. So continue reading. Your support helps the story move forward.**_

**P.S. Next chapter will be a break chapter. We've officially reached about half-way through the first bracket. 8 fights in, that's prettty good. :D -Xera**


	32. Breaking Things Together

**Alright, so I just want to address something before Sky takes you away for the chapter. A certain Guest has read and review this story and I just wanted to thank them, whoever they are. Unfortunately, because they're a guest, I couldn't respond to them so this is just the only way I could do so. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and you're awesome too. And I suggest that you keep an eye on that mysterious guy, you might like who he is. So, I will see you at the bottom, and now for the chapter. "Hey Sky!"**

**Sky: Hai guys! Not really good at these notes but enjoy!**

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 32: Breaking Things Together

**Skyla's POV**

I wondered off from the group, bored of their battle conversations and blah blah blah blah YACK!

It basically went like this,

"That battle was so cool! How did you do that?"

"WITH MY AWESOME MUSCLES!"

"Wooowww, you're so hoottt!"

Okay so maybe it didn't go exactly along those lines but you get the idea. Maybe it was a little more sophisticated like this,

"Extraordinary moves my dear sir!"

"Fantastic moves yourself, Madam."

"Same for you stranger." *flutters fan*

Okay not that sophisticated, geeze stop asking and get off my case! Literally, you're standing on my brief case! Get off you're crushing important donut holes in there!

I started walking around the place, admiring small things like the design of the building or the groups of people or the giant plant pots they had.

I had my gaze looking up when I crashed into a guy. Well me being me, guess what! I fell on my butt….

"Hey!" I exclaimed loudly, rubbing my now injured hip.

"I am so sorry!" The push guy said reaching a hand out.

I giggled loudly and stood up, brushing my skirt.

"Nah, it's all good. I should have been looking." I said.

He nodded.

The push guy, who shall remain unnamed for unknown reasons, wore casual black jeans, black shoes, the only things that weren't black were his cloak and mask- those were white.

I burst into laughter. "Hey! Are you the phantom of the opera?" I asked giggling.

He laughed as well and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." He stayed in that position for a second before moving back.

I stared at him weirdly causing him to laugh.

"I was wiggling my eyebrows but you couldn't see." He said brushing some white hair from his forehead.

I laughed. Behind his mask, I could see piercing blue eyes from the eye holes of the mask staring back at me.

Wouldn't it be super scary if you woke up in the middle of the night and saw those blue eyes glowing outside the window and that's all you saw?

"You're not as intimating as you look." I said aloud, titling my head slightly like a puppy.

He nodded and looked at his feet before looking back up at me.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Not really because some people are too intimated to talk to me." He said.

"Awww but you're such a nice guy!" I said ruffling some white hair.

I couldn't tell if he was smiling or not but he seemed happy so I'm just gonna go with he smiled.

"Thanks."

We stood in a comfortable silence, the kind where it's like you know the person for several years and you don't even need to talk you could just sit in silence and it'd all be good. Yeah, it was that kind of silence. Even though I didn't know his name. His appearance kinda reminded me of a guy who likes black. Expect for his white cape that covered most of his body. Which reminded me of the vampires who go "BLAH BLAH BLAH" And hiss their fangs before dramatically grabbing their cape and covering their bottom half of the face before spinning and turning into a bat. I like apples.

"Soooo…you got a team or naw?" I asked filling in the silence.

He shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because we finish each other's…!" I paused smiling widely and pointing to him.

He stared at me strangely standing there awkwardly as I kept waving at him.

I sighed in defeat and rested my arm back at my side.

"You were supposed to say sandwiches, man. Haven't you ever seen Frozen?" I asked sadly.

He shook his head, "Sorry, I haven't gotten around to it."

I gasped loudly and covered my mouth.

"No!" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." He said laughing slightly.

"Well then, I am sorry Stranger but I can no longer speak to you. You haven't seen Frozen!" I said turning my back on him and crossing my arms over my chest.

Behind me, he spoke "Oh okay, I see how it is!"

I laughed and turned towards him. "Don't make me go over to those giant pots and hide behind them and shoot you with my rocket launcher!" I threatened.

"I don't think you can do that."

"I actually did one time. I shot Patrick by mistake."

He stared at me shocked before taking a step away.

"So, what's with the mask?" I asked nodding towards the mask that covered most of his face.

"Makes me more mysterious." Was his response.

I shrugged. "If you like Phantom of the Opera."

He frowned slightly before taking off his mask and handing it to me. I stared at the white mask puzzled before he finally spoke.

"Put it on. I want to prove it doesn't make me look like the Phantom."

I nodded and place the mask on my face. I could barely see anything, let alone see where the guy was. The only thing I could see was his white cape moving around.

"I can't see anything! How do you see through this!?" I asked moving my hands out in front of me.

He chuckled from in front of me. "I have my ways."

"Are you daredevil?" I asked placing my hands on my hips like a scolding mother.

"No, sadly."

"Oh boo!" I pouted, even though he couldn't see.

"Alright, I think that's enough wearing the mask." He said removing the mask from my face.

I pouted again. I had just gotten used to wearing the mask and seeing through it and it was just taken away! This suucckkssss!

"Well, I must be going, duty calls." He said suddenly before walking off, his cape waving behind him.

"Alrighty, bye DareDevil!" I called out walking away as well.

Hmmm….I think I'll name him Phantom of the Cape!

Yeah, that seems suitable.

Phantom of the…..

Wait…what was the last word….crap.

**Hour later…or whatever…**

I walked into the small dorm of us LIKE A DOG! Hahaha..just kidding. Or am I?

When I walked through the familiar doors, I was greeted by Xera standing by the wall between the beds waving his hand like a magical sorcerer. In the center of the room was a holographic bullet floating in mid air, following his movements.

"Oh cool! Shoot me shoot me!" I exclaimed jumping towards the center and holding my arms out dramatically.

Xera chuckled, "What if it's not a hologram?"

"Trust me!" I said looking up at the ceiling.

I watched excitedly as Xera sent the bullet my way and gasped as it sailed right through me. The hologram looked so real, if anyone were to see that without hearing the conversation they'd think I was just shot.

"Wooww! That tickled!" I giggled.

"Yeah. It looks real but its fake." Xera said waving his hand and watched as the small bullet disappeared.

I sat down on my bed, "So why are you messing with holograms anyways?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged and sat down at the desk casually. "No reason. Just trying it out for fun I guess. I'm kind of trying to gain more control over my semblance so I can eventually control my hologram."

"Ohhhh so like when I try to become a monster by putting candy on my face and hiding in the bathroom to scare people."

Xera glanced at me before shaking his head and returning to the desk to finish writing something.

"Sure..something like that." He mumbled with a soft laugh.

"Well, it worked for Jaune…except before he made it to the toilet he peed himself when I jumped out….oops." I said sheepishly stepping out of the room.

I walked down the halls and into the courtyard, usually used for training, and pulled out my two swords and gave them a bounce.

"Thunder and lightning…" I mumbled before shaking my head no.

"Dancing Ballets..maybe."

I groaned and plopped down on the grass and fell onto my back.

Why was it so hard to pick a name for your weapons!? Everyone has it!

"Everyone but me." I mumbled staring at the blue sky.

The purple ribbon on one of the swords beside me rose up and twirled with the wind causing a slight tune to come out, but it was faint.

I sat up and stared at the ribbon before making it do it once more and the sound came back as well only louder.

I smiled.

"Melodious Strike." I thought before grinning widely.

"Melodious Strikkeee!" I shouted dashing back into the building and bursting through the doors of the dorm almost breaking the door down.

Xera swirled around quickly with a surprised look before calming down upon realizing it was just me.

"Melodious Strike!" I exclaimed jumping up and down on the bed with excitement.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, turning the chair to face me.

"That's the name!" I said pulling out my weapons and laying it on the ground. We sat in silence as I made the ribbons do once more what they did in the court yard. An audible noise came through, not loud enough for long distance hearing but loud enough to hear beside it.

"Xera," I began grinning, "Meet Melodious Strike."

* * *

**There we go, back to the fighting! Favorite…follow…review…have a good one guys! Cya! :D**

…

**And as for that Guest, I hope you enjoy what's to come, whoever you are. :)**

_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	33. Amber Eyes

XSRA's Flame Chapter 33: Amber Eyes

**3rd Person**

Ashton stood before the crowd, high up in the balcony for optimal awesomeness and viewing. Or so he claimed. "OKAY! This next match is pinning partner versus partner, teammate versus teammate, BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFE WILL BATTLE IT OUT! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW! In one corner, we have the Irish-man of team Rampage, PATRICK O'HARRY! And his opponent, the leader of the team and his partner for pub stomping and pub drinking, DAEMON RASPUTIN!"

Patrick stepped into the arena, drunken green eyes scanning the crowd as he stumbled forward still taking swigs from his ever present wooden mug. His opponent was much more sober than Patrick but he knew full well that the Irish-man should not be taken lightly in his state of mind. Daemon's white hair riffled slightly as he gripped his dragon-designed halberd and held it out at length.

"ARE YOU READY?!" Ashton yelled out, more so while staring at Patrick.

Patrick stood there taking in the moment and where he currently is, he glanced up at the balcony and locked eyes with Ashton. *hic-* "One moment please." He held up his pointer finger signaling for a minute longer then took the last swigs of his mead before storing it somewhere on his belt. "Okay, all good."

Ozpin watched from the shadows at this teen's obvious confidence, cracking a small smirk as he wanted to be sure to witness this next fight. Glynda only huffed in annoyance, "Why must he always be drunk?" She asked, not to anyone in specific.

"Why does Ozpin drink coffee?" Ashton pitched in glancing at the headmaster, who only shrugged and sipped from his own mug of coffee before gesturing for Ashton to continue.

"HERE WE GO! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! FIGHT, BEGIN, GO, CHARGE, BULL RUUUUUUSH!"

Daemon watched as his partner stumbled slightly, leaning against his staff for support as he tried to make his way toward him. The white haired teen only just smirked and charged full forced, swinging his halberd in a wide arc only for it to be sloppily blocked by Patrick.

Patrick followed up by jamming the end of his staff forward and into Daemon's gut, which was quickly knocked away as Daemon twirled his halberd, the blade slicing across Patrick's chest twice before spinning around Daemon's back and lunging forward.

Patrick stumbled to the side, merely avoiding that attack. He grabbed hold of the halberd as it plunged past him through the air and yanked on it, pulling Daemon towards him as he smashed his staff onto the teen's head. Then using the recoil of bouncing off of such soft white hair, he let go of the halberd and spun it around, jamming the other end into Daemon's stomach.

Daemon kicked Patrick away, effectively causing him to stumble and tumble to the ground from poor balance.

"You know, you really shouldn't drink so much before a fight, Pat. It'll get you killed." Daemon spoke, a hint of concern hiding somewhere in his voice.

Patrick rolled onto his back and jammed one end of his staff into the ground beside him, letting it balance there as he looked up at his opponent. "Aww, but where's the fun in that?! Bar fights are always more fun when you're drunk out of your mind."

Daemon chuckled as he swung down at his opponent on the ground but wasn't expecting Patrick to grab onto his staff and swung around it like a pole, then slamming two feet into Daemon's gut. As Daemon recovered, Patrick held his staff out and it retracted to about half its usual size, a large spiked ball dropping from the top and connected to the staff by a chain.

The chain morning star collided into Daemon's side, but the second it connected it was pushed off and Daemon lunged his halberd forward as far as he could. But despite his reach the tip of the blade stopped within a fraction of an inch at Patrick's chest.

"Pfft. Dude, that was so close." Patrick spoke but instantly regretted it as he noticed Daemon's smirk.

Patrick rolled his eyes and cursed himself for forgetting just as a blaze of fire coursed out of Daemon's halberd. The flame thrower melted through a lot of Patrick's aura reserves as he stumbled to the side quickly and took off running.

With his clothes smoking he turned to see the flames catching up to him, so he pushed a button on his morning star as he circled around Daemon. The chain was suddenly extended as the ball flew towards the white haired teen, surprising smashing his halberd away and stopping the torrent of fire briefly.

It was just enough time for Patrick to retract the ball back to normal length and leap into the air, smashing down onto his opponent, dropping Daemon's aura into the red. They both looked up at the screen and noticed Patrick's aura was a sliver away from the red zone.

"WHEW CLOSE ONE IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF! THE WINNER IS PATRICK O'HARRY!" Ashton exclaimed.

Patrick whipped out two mugs, already full of mead as he handed one to Daemon and took a swig from his own. "It's been too long-" *swig* "since my last drink." He spoke, drinking the contents of his mug.

Daemon chuckled as he took a sip of his own, "Man, you really don't know what's going on do you?"

"Not a clue my friend." *swig*

They walked off and rejoined the rest of their team in their own cue room.

Ashton looked up at the brackets and made an announcement, "Alright folks this marks the half-way point through the first bracket! YEAH!" Cheers and applause roared out as everyone noticed that half of the day was gone already. "Now, after the second half and the first bracket is over. All winning competitors can go home, get some rest, and fight again tomorrow in the second bracket! LET'S SEE WHO'S UP NEXT!"

Xera was walking down the dark hallway to the light of the arena when he felt a soft hand pull him back, "Hey, good luck out there. I heard this guy's pretty crazy. He's worse than Nora." Blake spoke, giving him a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. But I keep no luck for myself, I already have enough." He spoke gently as his eyes transitioned to pink. "I'll see you when this match is over, I'll be careful. Besides, I'm used to crazy. You've met Skyla, haven't you?" He said sarcastically and leaned back, giving her a genuine smile. Blake just rolled her eyes but smiled back anyway, cat ears twitching slightly under her bow.

Xera pushed off and started walking again, waving back to Blake as she watched him walk towards the light again.

"OH HO HO! Ladies and gentleman, we have a crazy one here today. Standing at 5 feet tall, we have the explosives maniac himself, RIGGS! And over here, we have his opponent, the leader of team Sahara, the elusive stealth expert who for some reason loves the color green and first master of the boomerang, XERA STARK!" Ashton called out as Xera reached the end of the tunnel.

Xera reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out his scroll. After modifying it a bit and reducing its compact form, he pushed a button on it and a white set of ear buds popped out and landed into his hand. He placed them into his ears as his favorite playlist started playing and he flipped up his hood as he stepped into the light, slightly nodding his head to the music and twirling his boomerangs to the beat.

Riggs was short and had brown scraggy hair, he wore large goggles over his eyes and a bandana over the lower half of his face. It was red with a black skull and cross bones on it, the top ridge resting on top of the tip of his nose. The rest of his suit was just red and black in color but what stuck out were the bombs. On his back was a massive red bomb that matched his bandana's design and with the emblem on it. At his sides were numerous satchels of explosive C4 and all along the belts that crossed his body were numerous smaller bombs. His large squirrel tail flicked back and forth as he grabbed two small bombs.

"5!...4!...3!...2!...1! BEGIN!"

Xera waited patiently, walking forward and observing his opponent. Riggs however, took off running. By the time he ran in range he jumped into the air and threw both his bombs. They grew significantly larger as the left his hands and bounced forward, the two bombs both blowing up at Xera's feet.

The smoke cleared quickly as Xera's body flickered slightly then disappeared, a black blade was hurled through the disappearing hologram and slashed into Riggs. Annivia's Talon made a fast return trip as the second boomerang was thrown.

Riggs side stepped out of the blade's arc and threw another bomb, causing Xera to jump to the side and avoid the explosion. Riggs followed up with a barrage of more bombs, numerous large balls of explosives were bouncing in Xera's direction as he glided around the fiery booms with ease, almost as if he was weightless.

His eyes showed through the shadow of his hood and bangs, revealing a calm blue as he dodged each attack. Riggs however, was growing angry and his temper was burning up. He growled slightly and tossed two more bombs behind Xera, causing him to step forward. He quickly threw one of his satchels directly under Xera's feet and clicked the detonator.

Riggs laughed maniacally as he finally landed a hit, throwing Xera into the air and dropping his aura into the yellow.

Riggs threw more bombs into the air and detonated them, but Xera was just as nimble in the air as he was on the ground and somehow weaved his way back to the arena floor.

"_Man, I really can't take too many hits now can I?" _Xera mumbled, cursing his poor durability_. "Time to close the gap!"_

Xera rolled forward and charged his opponent, only to find his path riddled with small bombs that were embedded into the ground. "Nice mine field." Xera spoke as the bombs blinked red every once in a while.

"HAHA! Yeah, more useful than you might think but not at all overkill." Riggs responded, surrounding himself with more mines.

Xera threw his boomerangs full force into the ground, watching as they quickly exploded out of the sand right below Riggs and slashed upwards. He followed up by leaping into the air and catching his blades, then lightly sprinting through the bombs and charged towards Riggs.

Behind the goggles, Riggs's eye twitched as he watched his opponent charge through his mine field without blowing up A SINGLE FREAKIN BOMB! WHAT THE HELL!

Xera reached Riggs in record time and delivered a flurry of slashes, noticing that he really didn't have much of a close range defense. Especially since he wouldn't want to blow himself up…would he?

Riggs laughed more as he took the hits, causing Xera to halt his attack briefly. Riggs smiled sadistically behind his bandana and pointed downward. Xera looked down and his eyes widened. Riggs and himself were standing on top of 5 satchels ready to blow just from the press of a button.

He looked up fearfully at the bomb maniac, "You wouldn't."

"HA! Try me!"

***LOOOUUD NOOOISES!***

The world seemed to slow down as Xera watched Riggs press the detonator. Without thinking, Xera kicked off in any direction to get away from the blast, but he wasn't expecting to be propelled by something before the satchels exploded. He tumbled sideways, triggering a few mines as he skidded to a stop and watched as a huge forceful fire ball exploded in the center of the arena.

He stole a glance up at the screen and saw his own aura low in the yellow but Riggs was still in the mid yellow range. _"I guess that guy blows himself up a lot. He can really take those explosions."_

The fire ball died down, Riggs nowhere in sight as Xera caught a glimpse of an after image of himself standing where he once stood. This one wasn't like his hologram though, it looked more solid. It flickered and disappeared quickly as the smoke cleared.

Xera looked up into the air with a new color in his eyes that hasn't been seen before. His amber eyes caught site of Riggs falling from an incredible height. The explosion must have thrown him into the air.

Riggs hurled numerous more bombs down towards Xera. The black haired teen side stepped again but noticed he did so with more speed than usual. He watched as he kicked off of another after image of himself as it took the explosion. _"Am I shadow-stepping?!"_

Xera was getting used to this now, gliding around more easily and unpredictably than usual and flipping around in the air. He found out quickly that he could now change direction in the air just by kicking off of one of his shadows.

Riggs landed with a thump and snarled, he was out of bombs…except for one. "You know, I usually don't waste this one but you seem to be better than anyone I've faced before in the rift. You're special." He pulled the massive bomb off his back and hurled it into the air. The red bomb grew in size and was now bigger than Riggs himself as it peaked and plummeted down towards Xera.

Xera's amber eyes watched as the bomb reached its peak. He then leapt off of another shadow and straight toward the falling bomb, taking it head on.

"What the-" Riggs was shocked at what his opponent just did, until he noticed what was about to happen.

Xera held his boomerangs in his hands and caught the massive bomb in the curve of his blades. He noticed the fuse only had another 2 seconds so he thought fast and spun forward, kicking off a final shadow and hurling the giant bomb in a new direction.

"Son of a-" The bomb impacted the ground directly in front of Riggs and lit the arena in a blazing light. The whole coliseum shook from the impact and the sheer size of the explosion. The aura bar next to Riggs's picture dropped well into the red despite his durability to explosions.

"XERA STARK TAKES THE VICORY!" Ashton roared, somehow louder than the concussive blast of that last explosion.

Xera landed lightly and holstered his blades back onto his back. He looked around and found the little squirrel-faunus embedded into the wall to his right. Chuckling, he walked over and pulled Riggs free from the wall.

"Hey, you alright? That bomb was pretty big." Xera asked.

"Y-yeah. Just a little dazed is all, sweet moves by the way." He responded, lifting his goggles to reveal deep brown eyes.

"Thanks, if it weren't for you running out of bombs I wouldn't have won. I was getting pretty tired." Xera stated, holding out his fist as they approached the tunnel.

Riggs promptly fist bumped him and walked off in the opposite direction. After flipping his hood back down and stopping his music, Xera walked off towards his own cue room when he was suddenly pulled off to the side.

Destiny pushed him against the wall, throwing personal space out the window as he looked at her in slight fear. "Your more special then you ever first appeared, Xera, start talking!"

"Start talking?" He responded a little sheepishly.

"We both know full well what you are… An ancient being one thought long lost to history a Faunus never to be heard of again." A smirk grew on her face as she uttered another word, "…Phoenix."

Xera's eyes widened a little at that, causing Destiny to step back a bit and give a prideful huff as she fixed her glasses and straightened her hair. "Ha, knew I was right."

Xera's eyes danced right and left, noticing that the hallway was clear. "Mind if I ask how you found out so easily?

Destiny just rolled her eyes, as if wondering if she should answer his question since it should be obvious considering who she was. "Oh come on, Xera. The way you fight, the name of your weapons, your affinity towards fire, the way your eyes change…I can go on but I still wasn't certain until your reaction a moment ago. I started putting it all together when I noticed your eyes change color in the cue room, that was a dead giveaway but what really sealed the deal was that stunt you pulled in the arena. I don't know how you did it but you did." She said pointing an accusing finger at his chest.

After a sigh of defeat, Xera crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Well, if we're deciding to throw secrets at each other then I just have one thing to say…I like your book."

"What are you talking about?" Destiny was a little taken aback by this.

"Of Flesh and Stone. The one you and Mordant are writing, it's a good book." Xera gave her a genuine smile but he still had concerns, "You aren't going to tell anyone, right? About me?"

"No, of course I would never stoop low enough to do something so vile I can understand why you wish to hide what you truly are but you have yet to tell the cat Faunus who is obviously your lover so I might give a little slip of the lips should things not work well between us Xera Stark." Destiny then gave him a look to say she wasn't joking.

Xera put up his hands defensively, "Alright, alright. Thank you."

He started walking down the hall when a hand caught his arm. Looking back he noticed Destiny looking at him curiously, "Since I will assume I am the first to find out your secret I have a favor I wish to ask you" She paused for a second blushing lightly her ears twitching a little, "Can I see _them_?"

Xera lifted an eye brow at this, "My wings?"

"Yes, I've only heard stories about what they look like. How they feel."

Xera only smirked at this, confusing Destiny slightly and causing her to let go. He continued walking, "Sorry, but you weren't the first one to find out." With a wave over the shoulder, he continued down the corridors and made his way back into his cue room.

He was instantly bombarded with questions, asking if those were new abilities he learned from Deception. Blake, however, kept quiet as she waited for her turn to talk to her boyfriend, alone. There was something she needed to find out. Xera noticed Destiny walk in a little while after, slightly disappointed as she took her seat next to Mordant.

"WHO'S READY FOR THE NEXT FIGHT!?" Ashton yelled.

"OKAY! Our next battle might be a doozy but Ozpin assured me of this young man's potential. In one corner, we have the knight in shining armor of Juniper, JAUNE ARC! His opponent, a lady's man and grandmaster weapon wielder, so skilled that you'd laugh at his current weapon of choice, JAX FROST!" The crowd cheered as the two competitors stepped into the light.

Jaune stood sheepishly, Crocea Mors strapped to his waist. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and held it in his right hand. His left gripped onto the sheath as it extended into a white shield. Blonde hair riffled in the wind as he took a stance, looking across the arena to his opponent.

Jax stepped out in a black cloak and hood. Glowing lime green eyes were the only thing visible beneath the shadow cascading over his face. Blonde hair cascaded over his eyes slightly, much like Jaune's. Absolutely everything on him was black, his pants and combat boots were black, along with his shirt beneath the cloak. He waved to his opponent then pulled out a handful of gummy bears from somewhere in his cloak and plopped them into his mouth.

Ashton's eyes widened as he watched Jax snack on his favorite candy, "Hold on a minute guys!"

A man in a silver business suit was seen leaping from the announcement balcony and landing on the arena floor. Everyone watched with curious eyes as he full on bull rushed Jax and skidded to a stop right in front of him holding out his hands.

"May I?" Ashton asked.

Jax shrugged and pulled out a large snack bowl of gummy bears from beneath his cloak, how he had that stored there, no one will ever know. He handed the bowl to Ashton as the man fist pumped the air and disappeared in a flash of white light, reappearing on the announcement balcony with a mouth full of gummy bears.

After a forced gulp, he continued. "Sorry about that. Anyway, 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!" Gummy bears were subtly disappearing from behind Ashton's back as Glynda and Ozpin snacked as well.

Jax dramatically whipped out a flaming lamppost from beneath his clock and surged forward. Jaune blocked the first strike with his shield as he swung with his sword, barely grazing Jax's body.

Jax reacted quickly and made a horizontal swing, knocking Jaune's shield to the side as he jabbed forward but Jaune parried the strike with his sword and spun, slashing Jax across the chest. Jax jumped back, negating the damage slightly and brought his lamppost down on Jaune's head. A satisfying _bonk_ sounded out as Jaune stumbled back a bit, shield at the ready.

"You're pretty good with that thing." Jaune spoke, eyeing the lamppost.

Jax just shrugged his shoulders.

"Heh, I don't suppose your last name means that you have some sort of ice semblance?" Jaune asked a little sheepishly.

The cloaked teen just rolled his eyes beneath his cloak and slammed his lamppost against the ground. The flame on it brightened and burned furiously as he slammed it into himself. His entire body became engulfed in fire as he smirked under his hood.

"Oh." Jaune added.

A now flaming Jax Frost charged Jaune, his fiery figure bashing relentlessly at Jaune's defense. His lamppost jabbing and bonking, slowly but surely dropping Jaune's aura levels.

Jaune pushed forward and slashed forward again, he needed to get away from these flames or he's sure to lose. He kicked Jax back a bit and stepped backward, avoiding another swing from the flaming lamppost.

Jax cut the flames, realizing that being on fire for too long would lower his aura levels dramatically. With the flames now gone, Jax slammed the butt of his lamppost into the ground and sent a forceful explosion downward, launching himself into the air with a trail of gummy bears falling in his wake. He flew high above and plummeted towards Jaune.

Jaune pointed his shield upward and blocked a powerful smash from Jax, the force behind the attack pushed him down onto a knee as tilted his shield slightly. This caused the lamppost to slide and smash into the ground next to Jaune.

Acting on instinct, Jaune slashed upward with his sword and dealt as much damage as he could before Jax spun and swung his weapon into Jaune's side. The poor knight was sent tumbling off to the side and into a pillar, cracking it as he came to an abrupt stop.

Jaune jumped back to his feet and charged recklessly towards his opponent again, taking a heavy swing at Jax. The cloaked teen side stepped and smashed his weapon into Jaune's back, causing him to tumble forward.

Rolling to his feet, Jaune turned and took a defensive stance again, noticing his aura was just above the red. Jax was in the yellow, so if he just got a few more good slashes in, he might just win.

Jax charged forward and ducked under Jaune's shield, blocked Jaune's sword, then jammed his lamppost into the ground while locking his arm underneath Jaune's.

They both surged into the air, Jaune flailing around as Jax let go. At the apex of the jump, Jax took hold of his weapon and swung it like a baseball bat, smashing Jaune from the air. A fiery explosion dispersed from the point of impact and Jaune broke the sound barrier as he hurled back down towards the arena floor.

Poor Jaune was embedded into the ground in the middle of a crater, breathing heavily as his aura worked over time to heal up. He watched as his opponent approached him and extended something to him. Looking up, Jaune noticed a bowl of gummy bears sitting in front of his face.

"Umm, thanks?" Jaune spoke sheepishly, accepting the bowl and also being pulled to his feet by his opponent. Jax patted him on the back as they exited the arena and walked off in different directions.

* * *

**Okay, so I've been having a lot of fun with this and needed extra characters to even out the brackets from the start. I have been letting you know who comes from where but I think I need to make something clear. I don't own the ****League of Legends**** characters, obviously. Anyway, I just wanted to have some fun using 5 champions from the League. Yup, that's right, 5. You've only seen 4, Pantheon, Garren, Ziggs and Jax. Hmm…curious isn't it? **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

**...**

**P.S. I haven't decided on the last champion yet, but it's between two smaller ones. If anyone want's to give me their opinion on the two, please PM me. Options: A fire dust caster with a giant flaming Ursa? or The most hated yordle in all of LoL?**


	34. A Blur of Green Light

XSRA's Flame Chapter 34: A Blur of Green Light

**3rd Person**

Xera leaned against one of the pillars as all the questions seemed to have stopped flowing. All except for a few people have audibly been curious about what happened, and it was kind of relieving to know that some people were good at respecting someone's privacy. However, that thought was proven wrong within a minute by a certain cat-faunus. Blake tugged on his arm slightly, getting his attention and pulling him out into the hallway.

"Hey, can we talk…you know…about what you did out there?" Blake asked, her eyes didn't seem to like making contact with Xera's as she avoided his gaze. Her cat ears twitched beneath her bow as her eyes flicked between glancing at his eyes and staring down the hall.

"Sure, but let's go somewhere a little more…private." As he spoke the last word, his eyes transitioned to bright silver, a color shiny enough to rival Ruby's, and took her hand in his. Xera turned down the hall and leaned forward on his foot, the ground beneath his shoe cracked a bit as he pushed off and disappeared in a green blur with Blake flailing behind him. Bright green strands of light dispersed in his wake as he sped down the halls at unbelievable speeds.

Blake's screams echoed down the corridors as the normally quiet girl freaked out from suddenly being pulled through the sound barrier. Squinting through the haze of her watery eyes and the wind being thrown into her hair, she noticed that they weren't in the arena any more. They were outside and running up a grassy hill where a lone tree stood tall, no one else in sight.

Xera suddenly stopped at the base of the tree and let Blake crash into his chest. His arms easily wrapped around her form as she panted from her earlier screams as she leaned into him.

Blake glared at him from behind watery eyes, "Don't do that again," she took in a deep breath, "Ever."

Xera leaned back a bit, his arms still around her waist as he looked into her amber eyes. His own eyes lost they're silver color and turned into sky blue. "No promises."

Blake broke her glare and they separated. Both of them sat down against the trunk of the tree beneath its shady leaves. Blake nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder, hiding the fact that she was plotting a way to get back at him somehow later on. But first, "So, that was new huh?"

"Yeah, it's new. I never knew about it until now." Xera spoke.

* * *

"SO WHO'S READY FOR THE NEXT MATCH!?" Ashton yelled over the stands, getting an almost louder, than himself, response in return. "Man I love my job." He spoke proudly to no one in particular as he grabbed a handful of gummy bears and popped them in his mouth.

"You really know how to make thing's exciting." Ozpin commented, gesturing his mug toward the man in front of him.

"And annoying." Glynda muttered, but that only fueled Ashton's desire to eventually impress the stone cold woman.

Ashton stepped back into the light after a curious glance towards Glynda, "ALRIGHT! Up next we have the flaming brawler of team Ruby, YANG XIAO LONG! Her opponent, well she's quite the opposite of the fiery woman mentioned. She's smart, tactical and quiet, she's SELENA!"

Yang stepped out of her tunnel, hands at her sides as she jumped back and forth in place. "Oh yeah, finally it's my turn." She brought her fists up and readied herself as her opponent stepped out of the shadows.

Selena stepped forward, her black combat boots reflecting the light a bit as he dark blue battle skirt riffled slightly from the movements. Her black jacket sat on top of her light blue under shirt and her black hair cascaded down a little past her shoulders. She had her hands clasped together tightly as she glanced around at the stands with reserved wondering blue eyes. She slowly moved one of her hands to her side and tentatively gripped the handle lying across her lower back. The weapon was dislodged and she pointed it in front of her, the silver gleam of the metal extending out and formed a long lance.

"OH HERE WE GO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! LEZ DO THIS THING! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! GO GO GO GO!" Ashton yelled out, fist pumping to his own rapid fire words.

Yang dashed forward and cocked her fist back, already rearing to go and her excitement only grew when her opponent parried her attack. Selena knocked Yang slightly to the left, giving herself enough room to side step the punch and roll away.

Once she tumbled to her feet she swung her lance around in a sweeping arc and slammed into one of Yang's legs. This didn't worry the brawler however as she kicked it away and slammed her fist into the ground, Ember Celica firing off a red flare that impacted the sand and caused a small explosion.

Both girls flew back from the explosion. Yang planted her feet onto the ground and skidded to a stop before lurching forward toward the still air born lance wielder. Selena saw the attack coming and jammed the end of her weapon into the ground below her, allowing her to spin around it and send both toward Yang.

Yang only smirked and took the hit, not even bothering to block it. Her aura was now entering the yellow but her will was already burning hotter than before. She could feel herself getting fired up the more she got the chance to fight.

Selena landed on her feet after the kick and quickly sent her lance forward, jabbing it's end into Yang's chest and smashing against her blazing aura. Yang spun and roundhouse kicked the lance to the side and she threw a punch forward, sending another flare toward the smaller girl.

It impacted against the girl's body and sent her tumbling backward through the sand. Yang held her punch there as she took a deep breath, "Oh yeah, I'm getting fired up. I hope you're not too hurt over there!"

A torrent of fire pierced through the sand cloud and surrounded Yang. Unfortunately for Selena, Yang was already at the point where fire wouldn't hurt her. In fact, it was only fueling the growing flame inside her.

Yang's smirk brought nothing but discomfort to the quiet girl as Yang just continued to stand in the middle of the flames. Almost like she didn't want to move, "Come on, is that all the fire you got?!" Yang called out, slamming her fists together and blowing the flames away. Her hair blew back from the force as well and small flickers of fire cascaded from her golden locks.

"Why aren't you dodging my attacks?" Selena asked, now realizing that something was off.

Yang closed her eyes and she took another deep breath, the flames in her hair growing stronger as she breathed out. Her eyes opened and she graced a determined look toward her opponent before charging again.

Selena ran forward as well and poll vaulted over Yang, using the end of her weapon to slam into the sand again. She quickly stabbed Yang in the back a few times as she flipped through the air and landed on her feet.

Yang, despite her target not being there, shot Ember Celica forward and used the force to send her elbow straight into Selena's gut. She followed up with her left fist and connected with the girl's head as she hunched over. Yang spun around and kicked Selena's legs out.

Time seemed to slow as Yang repositioned and cocked her fist back, watching as her opponent slowly rotated in the air and started following toward the ground. Another smirk crossed her lips as she cocked Ember Celica and sent it straight into Selena.

Yang put her whole body into that punch and watched as the smaller girl was sent impacting into the sand of the arena. The surrounding pillars cracked heavily from the impact and a huge gust of wind was sent pulsing out from the cratered girl. Selena's aura took a plunge into the red at the moment of collision.

"REMNANT QUAKE! EVERYONE TAKE COVER BECAUSE YANG IS THE VICTOR!" Ashton exclaimed, acting like he was off balance and waving his arms.

Glynda shook her head but a very slight smirk graced her lips as she fixed the damage to the arena again. A flick of the wrist later and everything was as good as new.

Yang easily pried the poor girl out of the sand, "Whew, that was fun. You really got me riled up by the end there."

"What, really?" Selena asked as they walked down the exit tunnel.

"Mhmm." Yang nodded. "Hey, see yah. It was a good fight." She added before giving Selena a wave as she turned around.

Yang made it back to the cue room and glanced around for her partner, "Hey, anyone see Blakey Boo?"

"Yeah, she ran off with Xera somewhere." Sun responded, currently dodging Skyla's attempts at grabbing his tale until she succeeded by pinning him behind Rex. "YES! I GOT IT!" Skyla cheered excitedly, Sun's golden tale softly gripped in her hands.

"Oh?" Yang asked as she glanced back at the door, "I bet she's having some _fun_ right now."

* * *

Blake was tracing circles in the grass in front of her, "So, you were actually using my semblance in the arena?"

Xera leaned his head back against the tree and crossed his legs, "Yup, I think that's how it works."

Blake looked up from her current position, which was cuddling into his side, "Do you know how it works?"

"I think I have it figured out," Xera brought his hand that was resting behind Blake's back and started scratching behind one of Blake's cat-ears beneath the bow. "I was thinking about you during my match and I guess it just kind of clicked. Almost like it was activated somehow."

Blake raised her arm and grabbed hold of the hand atop her head, "W-what are you doing?"

"I want to make up for pulling you all the way out here." He said, glancing down at her.

After a few moments, she reluctantly released her grip and rested her hand at her side, letting him continue. Xera started scratching the base of her ear, starting off cautiously.

Blake's body noticeably shivered as she began to purr, turning her head and pressing her face into Xera's shoulder. _"So that's what happens." _Xera thought as he brought his other hand up to scratch her other ear.

* * *

"DUN DUN, WE HAVE OUR NEXT FIGHT AT THE READY FOLKS! Up next we have the glyph casting ice queen-"

"Hey!" An annoyed heiress yelled out of the shadows.

"Sorry! Let me re-phrase that," He paused and glanced down into the arena, "THE ICE QUEEN OF TEAM RUBY! WEISS SCHNEE! And her opponent, the lovable purple bandit SKYLA XERIOUS!" Ashton exclaimed as fast as he could as he dove to the ground, just barely avoiding an ice spike sent from none other than Weiss Schnee.

The spike sailed over Ashton's head and nearly collided with Ozpin's coffee mug, fortunately Glynda stopped it just in time. Ozpin didn't seem phased at all to his near coffee death experience, having full trust in Glynda to the point of being unaffected by such stunts.

Glynda cast an annoyed glare at Ashton as she waved her riding crop, the ice spike reversing direction and shattering over Ashton's head. Sending numerous cold shivers down his spine.

"R-Right. Sor-ry about tha-at." Ashton apologized through chattering teeth.

Weiss stepped out, annoyed that her ice spike missed her intended target at first but took a small satisfaction of it eventually hitting its mark. She took a stance and held Myrtenaster at her side, both hands on the handle as the point was tilted toward Skyla.

Skyla walked out with her blades in hand, "Alright Melodious Strike, let's DO THIS THING!" She struck the most victorious pose but noticed a couple stares directed toward her. Her face flushed red as she dropped her arms and took an actual fighting stance.

Ashton got over his chills and warmed himself in the sun light, "OKAY! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! FIGHT!"

"YEAH!" Skyla cheered as she shot her ribbons out to the sides of herself, wrapping them around two pillars and pulling on them with all her strength. With some help from her aura, the pillars crumbled and she now held two large stone boulders at her disposal for attacking.

Weiss tried her best to run forward while Skyla was busy but the space was pretty large, she couldn't cover the distance in time and now she was charging something that would terrify most people. Skyla Xerious wielding massive rocks with a smile of pure enjoyment on her face.

Weiss glided forward and ducked under one swinging rock, but the other one came at her head-on so she had to side step. She stumbled a bit but managed to regain her balance as she charged forward again, sliding across the sand gracefully as she stabbed forward with Myrtenaster.

Skyla leaped into the air, barely avoiding the reach of the sword's point and pulled herself in a wide arc, using the weight of the boulders to give her momentum.

"Whoa, close one." Skyla commented, landing with an audible thump on her feet. Weiss turned around as the barrel to her sword began to rotate, "I must admit that you have pretty good reaction timing." The barrel stopped at red as she surged forward again.

Skyla swung her rocks again but Weiss shattered her first one to bits with an explosion of red mist, her second boulder was jumped as Weiss twirled gracefully in the air and brought her blade down into Skyla. The tip of the metal smashed into Skyla's aura and sent the girl skidding back a few feet.

Now only wielding one boulder, Skyla flipped forward and swung her boulder down toward Weiss. The heiress dodged the attack and stepped to the side. Skyla quickly pulsed her aura and lurched the boulder to follow Weiss, but the fencer side stepped again as the rock embedded itself into the ground.

Weiss surged forward again and landed another hit on Skyla, sending her back again. As she flew through the air she tugged on her ribbon and pulled her boulder straight toward Weiss's back. But the heiress jumped and the rock sailed cleanly through the air.

Skyla hurriedly planted her feet into the ground and let the rock fly past her, she let it swing around and she followed through with spinning it toward the falling fencer. Weiss braced for impact as the boulder smashed into her side, shattering on collision and dealing a heavy amount of damage.

The small explosion of shattered stone sent the heiress soaring into the wall. She grudgingly pushed herself to her feet as Skyla charged her with her swords drawn. They entered a sword grind as Weiss tried to push the duel blades off of her own weapon, but her grip on the ground was giving as she was slowly skidding backward.

Weiss stole a glance and noticed they're auras were both low in the yellow, so maybe if she was able to push off and get a few good slashes in she'd be able to win this match for good. With new determination, Weiss found her footing and pushed forward.

She pushed the blades back and opened up a small window, acting quickly she lunged forward again and stabbed at Skyla's stomach. Skyla lurched backward and sucked in her belly just enough to be out of reach. With Weiss's arm now extended, Skyla quickly snaked one of her ribbons completely around the heiress's arm and locked it in place.

"I'm so sorry about this." Skyla muttered as Weiss's eyes widened, feeling as strong tug on her arm as her whole body became airborne.

Skyla slammed Weiss into the nearest pillar and dropped the ice queen's aura into the red, ending the match.

"AND THE ICE QUEEN GOES DOWN! CONGRATULATIONS SKYLA XERIOUS!" Ashton announced from his balcony.

Skyla quickly helped Weiss back to her feet, saying sorry on repeat but her attempts were stopped by a simple wave of the hand.

"Relax, it was a good hit. You did well."

Skyla beamed a happy smile and they walked back to their cue room.

"You're drooling." Xera chuckled, deciding it was probably time that they start heading back. He stopped scratching her ears as her face pushed into his side some more, a blush spreading quickly across her cheeks.

"You…you fiend." Blake's voice was slightly muffled by Xera's sweatshirt.

"What? I think it's cute."

Blake half-heartedly hit her fist into his side, "Aww, come on. It's true." Xera defended.

"Let's just head back." She spoke quietly, still getting over the bliss she felt from the heavenly treatment her ears received.

Ashton's voice echoed around the stadium as he called out the next two competitors. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, next up we have two newcomers to the arena! First up, a man wearing a black jacket and with a personality to match, ZACK ILKNER!"

The first fighter walked out onto the stadium floor, dragging his feet like he didn't want to be there. He wore a black shirt and purple pants, setting off his black hair and giving him a thoroughly dreary look. He sported compact, wrist-mounted machine guns and devices on his ankles that didn't seem to resemble any specific kind of weapon.

"And his opponent, standing at a towering six-foot-something and, um, evidently too busy writing to realize the fight's about to start, we have GREEEN TSUKAYOSHI!"

Green strode out to the middle of the arena. In addition to his normal clothes, he had donned green plate armor on his chest, shoulders and legs. A chain of bullets spiraled down each of his sleeves from the backpack on his back, and as Ashton had noted, he was indeed writing. He looked up and, noticing his opponent standing across the arena, quickly exchanged his notebook for the large dual-barreled rifle on his back.

Why did I put Zephyr Magna in rifle mode again? Green thought to himself. At the touch of the control switch, the rifle changed shape as dozens of parts shifted and rearranged themselves until Green held his weapon's usual form, a long double-headed warhammer. He gave it a whirl, spinning the heavy hammer with no visible difficulty before leaning it on his shoulder.

"Let's begin in 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! START!"

Green slammed his hammer into the ground and pulled the trigger. A concussive burst of flame from the head of his hammer propelled him across the stadium toward Zack, and he swung his weapon at the depressing teen.

Zack retaliated quickly, doing a front flip before leaping into the air feet first. Blades extended from his ankle weapons, pointing directly toward Green. The airborne fighters were about to collide when Green swung his hammer downward, shifting his center of gravity and skidding into the dirt. He slid safely under Zack's deadly knife-boots before jumping to his feet.

Green's foe landed skillfully from his flip. "I would be unlucky enough to get an opponent who knows what he's doing." He aimed quickly and fired his wrist guns at Green. The emerald warrior broke into a run, zigzagging across the field to avoid the stream of bullets. He quickly covered the distance between them and engaged Zack, spinning his hammer and attacking from multiple sides.

The pessimistic fighter expertly blocked Green's attacks before launching his own offensive. A kick from the side, a bust of gunfire at his midsection, two more kicks – Green found himself fighting defensively. Zack hit him with another kick to the head before peppering his torso with bullets. "Alright, I've had about enough." Green lifted his hammer and swung hard, simultaneously pulling the trigger. The concussion threw both combatants back, breaking their stalemate.

Green shot a glance at the scoreboard- both fighters' auras were in the yellow. This fight's a little too close for comfort right now, he thought to himself. That was about to change, though. Zephyr Magna converted back to its rifle mode and Green took aim. Zack yelped and leapt to the side as a round hit the ground close to his feet, taking a basketball-size chunk of the arena floor with it.

"What! YOU have a gun too!?" Zack complained loudly. He had to move fast to avoid the following series of concussive impacts that chased him across the arena. He tried to return fire with his machine guns, but Green basically had him running scared. He was about to send one last desperate flurry of gunfire at Green when-

*click*

The depressed teen's wrist guns clicked loudly, indicating an empty magazine. Now's my chance! Green dashed across the stadium, switching Zephyr Magna back to hammer form. He swung at Zack, putting all his weight into the strike. Zack groaned. "Oh, no! It's over for me! I'm out of ammunition!" Then he paused.

"Wait, no I'm not."

Just as Green's hammer was about to make contact, Zack ducked and fired his guns. Green was thrown off balance by the unexpected lack of impact, and he tumbled to the ground under a hail of gunfire. His opponent flipped forward onto his hands, spinning his blades boots like some kind of lethal break-dance. Green tried to block the assault, but the melancholic martial arts master's attacks came too quickly. Zack slammed his feet together and twisted Zephyr Magna from Green's hands, flinging it away.

"So much for knowing what you're doing." Zack said as he ran forward for his final attack. He executed two front flips before spinning into the air toward Green's head, blades extended. The taller teen grimaced. I was hoping I could save this until the next round. Looks like I have no choice, though. Zack hurtled toward his opponent…

And passed right through him.

Green's pessimistic foe slammed into the ground in a daze. "Wh- what was that? Are you a ghost?" Green didn't take the time to answer, disengaging his Semblance and returning to normal density. He grabbed Zack by the shirt and hurling him across the stadium, where he crashed through two pillars before landing in a pile of rubble. Green quickly grabbed his hammer and sprinted toward Zack. Both their auras were super depleted, so this was his last chance to win.

Zack shook some dust from his hair, then noticed the blurry green shape falling toward him. He sighed. "That figures. Just my luck." Green's hammer slammed him into the ground, depleting his aura totally into the red.

Green stood as Ashton's voice filled the air. "AND WE HAVE A WINNER! Ladies and gentlemen, GREEN!"

Green smiled to himself, re-holstering his weapon and walking off. As he walked down the hallway he passed by Xera and Blake, he gave them a simple wave which they returned as he walked past them and toward his own teammates. He entered his cue room and was immediately congratulated by Dameon and the others. Patrick offered him a drink but he was smart enough not to accept anything from that Irish alcoholic.

* * *

**Unknown POV**

I stepped through the coliseum entrance, my gaze moving across the architecture of the huge arena.

"_Hmm, so you think you can fight all the way through the competition and hope you end up fighting him?"_ I asked myself.

"Hmph, the real question is how long can he last in this competition? Is he really that skilled?"

I mentally rolled my eyes, _"He's more skilled than you will ever know."_

I watched as my body smirked and moved forward, "Excellent. Then I hope he puts up a fight for when we match. I finally get to have a little _fun_ before I kill him."

* * *

**Alright, so I'd like to thank my good friend for writing Green's fight. He was the one who made him and I thought it'd be cool if he wrote his own fight scenes. If you never noticed, then he did a great job trying to match my writing style so props to him. On another note, I'm sure you all have heard about Monty passing away. So, this story isn't only going to be a direct reference to RWBY anymore. In my eyes, this is becoming a way of keeping that great man's flame alive for as long as I can. It's the only way I can honor his memory, and I'm not the only one who feels that way. This story isn't going to end for a while so I hope those of you who enjoy this little depiction of my imagination will stick around for more. **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

…

**God speed Monty Oum, we love you man.**


	35. Dark Competition

XSRA's Flame Chapter 35: Dark Competition

**3rd Person**

"Sooo? Did you two enjoy each other?" Yang asked, swaying her hips and looking toward Blake and Xera after they walked in.

"What?! Yang, n-no we d-didn't!" Blake frantically shook her head and hands no as her face flushed red, earning a smirk and a prideful laugh from Yang.

"Ewwww. Yaaaaang!" Ruby whined, pulling her hood over her face.

Xera just gave the blonde a questioning look before walking over to an empty space large enough for two against the wall and leaned against it, sliding himself down so one his legs stretched out and his other leg stayed bent, resting head and back rested against the wall.

"You getting jealous Yang?" He asked, relaxing in his spot against the wall.

"Hey, just because I haven't found anyone yet doesn't mean I'm jealous!" She responded from across the room, crossing her arms and leaning back against a pillar pouting.

Blake sat next to Xera against the wall, finally dropping her glare on Yang as she did so.

"ALRIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Who's ready for the next match?!" Ashton bellowed again, lowering his tone but keeping the volume for that last sentence. The crowd cheered in the stands as he smiled proudly, "Well, we're coming down to the last four fights of the first bracket! I hope you all have been enjoying the action so far!?"

The crowd roared louder, giving Ashton a satisfied smile as he plopped more gummy bears into his mouth. "Can you believe this guys? We've already nearly finished the biggest bracket." He spoke while chewing his mouth full of sugary treats.

"Well, it's easy to believe since we've been here all day." Glynda spoke coldly, standing with her scroll in her hinds alongside Ozpin.

"She has a point." The headmaster stated, taking another sip from his coffee.

Ashton just shook his head, "You guys are WAY too serious." He turned back to the crowd and nodded his head in approval, "These guys are so much more fun."

Glynda huffed in annoyance but Ozpin just shrugged his shoulders, accepting the comment.

"SO! Next up we have the blind but deadly baton wielding crack shot of team Solar, RIDEAT DENTE! And his opponent, he's tall, he's huge, he's the hulk's second cousin twice removed! HE'S THE BAZ! Ashton exclaimed, extending his arms in a wide gesture.

Baz walked out of his tunnel at a towering 6 foot 9, gazing across the arena with unbreakable brown eyes. He lacked a shirt, the only thing across his upper body was a leather strap that went diagonally from his shoulder down to his waist, attached to the back was a large metal club. From his waist down he wore faded blue jeans held up by a brown belt, brown combat boots fit his appearance as he walked forward, standing across from Rideat in the center of the arena.

Rideat just gazed up at his opponent, his beanie covering his eyes but he didn't appear to be backing down anytime soon. "So I have to fight a pebble?" He asked lazily, stretching his arms and placing them behind his head.

"The Baz is no pebble! He is a boulder! And The Baz does not take insults from little blind people." Baz grumbled out, then reached for his club and prepared to smash Rideat to a pulp once everything starts.

Rideat just let out a high pitched laugh as he leaned back, "Oh? You talk in third person too? Pfft, I've fought Ursa cubs more intimidating than you."

Baz just grumbled getting impatient, glaring up at the announcement balcony. "The Baz is waiting to crush his puny opponent, what is taking so long?!"

Ashton just looked at him quizzically, "Oh, I was just seeing if you'd drop kick the guy." Baz turned to Rideat, tensing up and considering just sending the smaller teen to the moon.

"Well, let's get this PARTY STARTED! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! GO GET HIM SOMEWHAT LARGE PEBBLE! Ashton yelled.

A grumble of annoyance sounded as Baz pulled his club off his back and brought it down on his opponent, putting most of his strength into the attack. "Hmph, The Baz will win this in one hit!"

Rideat just smirked and brought up his weaponized prosthetic arm, catching the club easily and throwing it right back where it came from. The blind teen started cracking up, watching as the larger one stumbled backwards. "What? Weren't expecting to find a puny child stronger than you?"

Baz planted his feet in the ground irritated and swung again, this time Rideat's strength was overcome and he was sent crashing through the nearest pillar. He stumbled to his feet as he glared toward the smirking tower before him, "Oh, you get stronger too? Interesting."

The blind teen ran back in with his baton gripped in his mechanical hand, sending a quick jab into the guy's stomach only for his whole arm to shake from the impact of hitting something unbreakable. Baz just smirked and swung his club again, causing Rideat to duck and swing and try to kick out the guy's legs, but they wouldn't budge.

"_This guy's using the ground to enhance his strength. I wonder what'll happen if I shoot him in his smug face." _Rideat backed away and holstered his baton, letting the barrel in his palm rotate and set itself to yellow. The gears in his arm tensed as he sent an electric dust flare straight into Baz's face.

He didn't let up, he sent flare after flare straight into Baz as he started laughing more and more sadistically. The barrel in his palm spun rapidly as it started clicking, showing he was out of shock dust. "Huh, I should really consider using that glyph Allix showed Ruby. Meh, too bad I wasn't paying attention."

Rideat watched as the dust cleared and he looked to his opponent, but he was still standing tall and looking as smug as ever aside from the fact that he was breathing heavily. His aura was in the yellow, mainly from his over use of his semblance.

Baz compressed his club into a sawed off shotgun and charged forward, finally moving himself around from his starting position. Rideat charged his opponent as well, baton at the ready in his normal arm while his prosthetic arm loaded a new dust into his palm.

The hulking teen fired shotgun blasts forward, forcing Rideat to side step and continue running. He grumbled as he fired off more shots, all of which being dodged by the blind teen. "The Baz thought you blind kid!" He grumbled as he loaded in more shells.

Rideat just laughed and slid under him, slamming his baton into one of his legs and pulling the other with his iron grip. Baz fell forward with a hard thud, crashing to the ground in a sandy explosion. Rideat quickly charged his opponent again, shooting blue ice flare down onto him, freezing him in place.

The hyena faunus then leapt into the air and threw his baton down onto Baz, cracking the ice but not breaking it completely. He then smiled sadistically as he fell back down, balling his prosthetic arm into a fist and slammed into the only boulder in the stadium.

His arm smashed through the thick layers of ice and continued down as he put all his falling momentum into his attack, shattering the encasement of ice dust and impacting straight into Baz's chest. The sand around them exploded in a whirlwind of ice and dust, pulsing out from the impact zone. A particular pebble's aura dropped down into the red as the arena stands could be heard again as they cheered even louder.

"THERE WE HAVE IT FOLKS! THE BAZ HAS BEEN DEFEATED AND RIDEAT DENTE COMES OUT VICTORIOUS! Ashton cheered.

Rideat pried his fist away as Baz breathed in deeply, releasing the air as he grumbled and looked around. "Did The Baz win?"

"Nah man, but you were close." Rideat stated, extending his stronger arm to the downed rock.

He accepted the help and was pulled up with a small struggle from the smaller guy. "Dude you way a ton!" Rideat flexed his prosthetic arm, checking to see how it held up in the fight. _"Looks like I gotta do a little maintenance on this thing again."_ He thought as he started walking toward the exit alongside Baz.

Glynda huffed once again in annoyance as she was the designated rebuilder of the arena. She flicked her riding crop and the chattered stones and dispersed sands all pulled back into place.

"That never ceases to amaze me Glynda." Ashton spoke, but was only smacked in the back of the head by a certain someone's riding crop.

"Shush you, I'm just glad we're almost done for the day." She huffed in annoyance, returning to her spot and alerting the next pair to prepare to fight.

Ashton turned to the crowd once again and announced the next fighters. "Next up we have another member of team Sonar, the banana loving, shotgun shooting, nun-chuck twirling monkey faunus, SUN WUKONG! His opponent is the lone scout of the yordles and is quite frankly hated by the mass majority, he's TEEMO!"

A smaller teen walked out of the shadows twirling a stick of bamboo in his hand as he adjusted his dark green helmet. The sun shaded his blue eyes as he watched from behind scraggy black hair. Two badger ears poked out through his helmet right behind a pair of red goggles that were resting just above the brim. The satchel of maps on his back was adjusted slightly as the papers sticking out ruffled around a bit in the wind. His bronze telescope dangling against his chest reflected the light as his large red scarf blew back in the breeze. He wore a baggy white shirt and black pants with suspenders that dangled loosely off the waist. A pair of dark green boots and gloves fit his hands and feet as he stood at a solid height of 5 feet. His bamboo stick had a hole running down its center making it hollow and light.

Sun walked nonchalantly across the arena and met his opponent in the middle, "Ah, you must be the one everyone hates. Why does everyone hate a little guy like you?"

Teemo just gazed up at the taller monkey faunus in front of him, "To put it simply, I like hiding mushrooms everywhere."

Sun looked at him questionably, "Alright kid, it's a little weird but I don't see why people hate you for it. I mean, I hide banana peels everywhere when no one's looking." He stated matter of fact like with no shame. "Anyway, you gonna fight me with that stick of yours?"

The smaller one nodded, "It's armed and ready, are you?"

"LET'S GET THIS THING ROLLING! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! GO GET EM!" Ashton announced, starting the match.

Sun whipped out Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and fired off two immediate shots from his shotguns. Teemo dashed to the side and avoided the first barrage of bullets as he loaded a dust dart into his weapon and shot it toward the monkey faunus.

Sun turned and knocked it away with his tale but the impact caused it to explode, "Gah, this stuff smells!" He swatted it away as he noticed his aura steadily dropping at a slow rate, _"Poison!"_ His internal realization cost him another poison dart as he took this one in the chest.

Teemo switched ammo and started using more elemental dust darts, sending an orange one toward Sun as he ran around him in a quick dash. Sun slammed his weapons back together forming his staff as he hit the dart with the end of it, causing it to explode in flames a safe distance away. He then twirled it around his back, knocking away two more darts as he slammed it into the ground, sending out a short blast that knocked Teemo off his feet.

He followed up by sweeping the smaller guy's feet out from under him and smacking him into the air with his staff. Sun leapt after him and smacked him back down to the ground, watching as his opponent crashed into the arena floor and scurried to his feet.

Sun's eyes bugged out as he noticed Teemo quickly place a rather large mushroom on the ground right where he was going to land, he didn't think anything of it until it exploded into a noxious cloud of poison dust as he tumbled to the ground.

"I see why they hate you for this stuff. It reeks!" Sun plugged his nose as he ran out of the cloud, only to step on another one sending his aura into the mid yellow range. "Son of a-" He was cut off by a third mushroom exploding to his left.

Teemo was cracking up, "That's gotta sting." He was suddenly bashed in the head by a frustrated Sun Wukong and stumbled back a bit.

Sun split his weapon again and sent a flurry of strikes and shot gun blasts as he sent his opponents aura into the yellow as well. Teemo was continuously blocking and getting struck from left and right, only being able to negate half the damage as he continued to be assaulted by sticks and shells.

The scout shot a dart into Sun's chest once he was able to recover slightly, the projectile exploded into a large purple cloud obscuring the monkey faunus's vision and giving Teemo a little time to back away.

He bought himself exactly two seconds, but it wasn't enough. Sun waved the dust off with a powerful swing of his staff and luckily ended up smashing it into Teemo. He smirked at the satisfying crunch and rammed the end of it into the teens gut.

Teemo reared back a bit but was further pushed back by several more beatings from Sun's explosive stick of awesomeness. He was then smashed upward again but this time Sun let loose his anger on the poor little guy in mid-air.

As Teemo struggled to stay straight, Sun was spinning left and right sending all kinds of explosive strikes, shotgun shells, and tail smacks as they fell back toward the arena. Just as they were around 10 feet from the ground, Sun spun and put full power into smashing the scout's head and hurling him into the arena floor. He smirked proudly as he watched the small guy break the sound barrier and impact into the sand of the arena, dropping Teemo's aura into the red.

"YEAH-HAH! AND THE SCOUT GETS DESTROYED! SUN WUKONG IS THE WINNER!" Ashton bellowed excitedly, giving the monkey faunus a thumbs up.

Sun pulled the little guy up and put away his weapon.

"And let me guess, you hate me now too?" Teemo asked as they walked off.

"Nah, it was just really satisfying to beat you up." Sun responded with his hands clasped behind his head in a relaxed manor.

The scout just pouted, "Gee, thanks."

"What? I don't hate you, that has to count for something right?" Sun just shrugged his shoulders as they continued out of the arena.

They disappeared into the dark tunnels, Sun only reappearing back in his cue room as he strolled in with pride plastered all over his face. "Hey guys!"

Skyla was currently playing wall ball with Nora, Rex, and Anna. The big guy was the first to get knocked out unfortunately considering his lack of speed.

"Yeah, it was totally awesome!" Ruby cheered, munching on some cookies that were found on the large table of food.

Destiny looked up from her scroll and gave Sun a thumbs up. "I can say you did acceptably aloth you looked down upon him for his choice of weapon which caused you to be dropped down to such a low aura level." With everything she seemed to need to say she turned back to Mordant and growled a little smacking him in the back of the head with a book waking him up as he had fallen asleep startling him back awake as they returned to working on their next book.

Sun looked around the room, getting a couple more nods and cheers from the rest as he walked over to Anna and joined the small group in their game of wall ball.

Blake and Xera were still in their little spot, the cat-faunus leaning against him as she read a book while Xera messed around on his scroll. Pyrrha and Jaune were talking on one of the couches in view of the arena and Rideat sat on the couch across from them. His sleeve was rolled up as he tightened a few screws on his prosthetic arm, working on getting it in perfect condition again.

Allix had her head phones on and was listening to music, sitting next to Rideat on the couch. She had her legs curled up and was relaxing against the end with her eyes closed. Lastly, Yang and Weiss were talking about the upcoming dance after the tournament, thinking through how they'll set it up this time around considering they were chosen to supervise it again.

"Awww! Come on Sun, that's cheating using your tail like that!" Skyla whined, crossing her arms and pouting after she got knocked out.

"What?! No one said that I couldn't." Sun replied smugly.

The TV flicked on again and showed a live feed of the arena from multiple different angles, switching through the different views respectively. Most of the teens looked up at the TV to watch while the rest gazed out the large window into the stadium, deciding to see the action for themselves instead of on TV.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE OF VALE AND THOSE WHO CAME OUT FROM WHEREVER YOU CAME FROM! The next match begins now! In one corner we have the chainsaw wielding maniac LOCKJAW! And in the other corner, we have the narcissistic swordsman VICE CORKID!" Ashton exclaimed, calling out the second to last fight of the day.

Out of one of the tunnels, Lockjaw walked out will a toothy grin and crazed crimson red eyes. His black hair cascaded over his face as it reached just past his shoulders. He wore dark black tattered jeans and steel boots. An equally black shirt was placed bellow a metal chain that cascaded down over his shoulder and to his waist, wrapping around twice before letting the end hang at his back. A long jagged buster sword was in his grasp as he ran his finger over the two triggers on the handle, eyeing down his opponent from across the sands.

Vice walked out of his own tunnel, a light pink fedora placed at an angle on his head just above sleek brown hair. He wore a form fitting suit of black light armor on his chest and black pants, ending the look off with pink sneakers. He was busy flexing his arms and looking at himself, impressed with how the light made his entire body glow beautifully. Two short swords were gripped in his hands as he swung them around, a loose but strong chain connected them at the pommels.

Ashton looked between the two as he raised the mic to his face, "OKAY! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! FIGHT!"

Vice and Lockjaw charged each other and clashed blades in the center of the stadium, kicking up the sand slightly as they traded blows. Lockjaw pulled one of his triggers on his blade as the jagged edges roared to life, the entire blade cycling through as the deadly sharp edges threatened to slice through Vice's sword.

Vice pulled back quickly and sent a few swipes across Lockjaw's legs as he tumbled to the side, evading a powerful wide swipe from the chainsaw. Lockjaw grunted in frustration as he kicked at Vice, only for the teen to flip away gracefully and prepare his weapons. Vice charged back in, this time sliding under the taller Lockjaw and slicing at both his legs.

Lockjaw fell down to his knees as Vice skidded to a stop just behind him and did a back flip, striking down onto the dark teen below him as he landed at his front, finishing with a wide slash across Lockjaw's chest.

"Yes, come on. Strike me MORE! Feed me, let me taste the sweet flavor of _blood_!" Lockjaw cackled, his eyes hidden behind his hair only leaving his toothy grin visible. He smiled sadistically as he stood, switching the secondary switch on his chainsaw as he did so.

Vice backed away with wide pink eyes as he watched the scary guy's weapon burst with ice dust. Each of the smaller blades and jagged edges grew ice spikes on them and made the weapon twice as deadly. The ice dust cranked up its cutting power by a huge margin as Lockjaw held it in one hand.

The narcissistic teen charge in again, biting back his fear as he blocked an attack with one sword and plunged his other straight at Lockjaw's chest. Lockjaw kneed the teen in the gut and kicked him away with his steel boot.

He watched as his opponent stumbled back and recovered, but only in time to receive a nasty slash across the side from Lockjaw's frosted buster sword. Lockjaw took a deep breath, relishing the scent of fear and blood as he stared at Vice. His unbreakable grin only grew larger as he saw a small trickle of blood fall onto the sand.

Lockjaw's eyes pooled black and his irises changed to a vibrant red, his bloodlust kicking in as he charged Vice again. The teen took a low stance and dodged the first swipe, only to be smashed in the stomach by a powerful punch. He pushed himself to the side as he swung back around and slashed across Lockjaw's side. Their auras were now in the yellow as they pushed past each other.

Lockjaw swung his arm and used the back of his blade to slam against Vice. He only had enough time to bring his closest sword up and try to block the attack. The powerful iced blade pushed against Vice's short sword, sending out sparks and ice as Vice pushed his aura into the blade. It was the only way to stop his weapon from being torn to shreds against a guy like this.

Vice tilted his sword and let the chain saw slam into the ground to his left as he rolled to the right, gaining a small distance away from his opponent as he tried to find time to think of some way to beat the maniac.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted to fight?" Lockjaw hissed, his black and red eyes glaring at Vice.

"You sir, shouldn't even be allowed to enter a tournament with that thing." Vice responded, eyeing the still roaring blade in Lockjaw's grasp.

Lockjaw just smirked wider and held up his blade, "Oh? This little piece of metal here?" His arm tensed as he lunged forward faster than before, his bloodlust boosting his abilities as he took a swing at Vice.

Vice blocked the swipe and got thrown back multiple feet, skidding to a stop and sprinting to the side as he tried to buy himself time. But his time was short lived as something hard and cold whipped his legs out, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Lockjaw held his sword out to the side as he yanked his chain back, watching as it slithered into a pile at his side as he reared it back again, sending it down toward Vice. It smashed into the ground as Vice barely rolled out of its way and got to his feet.

He had one last shot to get in as many strikes as he could so he ran full speed toward Lockjaw, side stepping another whip from the chain and readying his blades. Lockjaw swung his large chainsaw horizontally toward the teens chest but Vice slide onto his knees and glided under the attack.

Vice quickly sent a flurry of slashes at Lockjaw only for the bigger teen to smash away his swords with a single swipe. His piercing eyes glared at Vice as he snatched him by the neck and lifted him up.

Lockjaw grunted as he reared his arm back and slammed Vice into the ground, bringing him just above the red zone but not quite there yet. He then brought his chain down on him and rapped it around one of the downed teen's arms before yanking it. Vice was forced into the air and straight into the path of Lockjaw's blade.

Lockjaw sent a wide swing straight into Vice and used all his strength in the attack. The blade slammed into Vice's aura and partially sliced through a small area, but the damage was cut short as Vice was sent flying to the side, his exhausted form tumbling to the ground and kicking up the sand with every bounce. He finally slowed to a stop and rolled onto his back, looking up at the screen and noticing his aura in the red.

"WOW, A BRUTAL FINISH BUT LOCKJAW TAKES THE VICTORY NONE THE LESS!" Ashton announced as he turned around, "I think it's time to call in the medics."

"They're on their way." Glynda stated, typing away at her scroll.

The two in the arena made their exit as Ashton approached Ozpin. "Alright, so I've been holding off on announcing this guy. Are you sure about this next match Ozzy?"

Ozpin took another sip out of his coffee, "I trust that we can allow him to fight. Just be on your guard Ashton, keep a close eye on him." Ozpin placed his mug down as he pondered if inviting this teen into the tournament was a good idea, _"I wonder if he'll keep his word?"_ He thought as Ashton prepared to announce the next fight, hesitating for the first time today.

"A-ALRIGHT FOLKS! We're down to the final fight of the first bracket! Now, please welcome to the arena the explosives expert and foxy ginger of her team, ANNA CLYDE! And her opponent, the dark and gloomy claymore wielding marksman, ZERATH STARK!" Ashton exclaimed, glancing down into the stadium.

Zerath stepped out into the light, his black trench coat gently blowing around as he gazed at the ground, his hands deep in his pockets. His white undershirt showed as the wind parted his trench coat slightly. His shoulder length black hair grew darker in the light while the white streaks in it only seemed to reflect the sun's rays. He lifted his gaze revealing sharp blood red eyes, showing the presence of Soul-Slasher as the atmosphere around him grew tense. The massive claymore on his back was deftly removed and pulled over his shoulder, he lifted the blade with ease as the reflective metal shined in the sunlight. The sun's light followed the barrel in the center of his blade down to the handle where he placed his finger on the trigger mechanism. The claymore gave off a faint orange hue as he twirled it around and waited.

"Why do I need to fight these amatures? I'm only here for one reason." Zerath spoke under his breath. _"It's only fair, this is a tournament after all. You can't just kill people either, if you do you lose the chance to fight Xera."_ The real brother responded in his head, hopefully preventing anyone else from dying to his blade.

Anna walked out from her side, eyeing down her strange opponent. She prepared her Flare Breaker and set it to spear mode, holding it at her side as her crimson eyes observed Zerath.

Ashton took one last glance back to Ozpin and received a reassuring nod, allowing him to continue. "OKAY! THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE FINAL BATTLE OF THE DAY! LET'S DO THIS THING! 5!...4!...3!...2!...1! BEGIN!"

Anna charged forward with her spear extended in front of her as Zerath finally locked his eyes on his opponent and began his own brisk walk. He held his sword out to the side in a composed manor as he took careful steps, his gaze never leaving Anna's eyes.

The fox faunus hesitated slightly under his gaze as she approached him, sending her spear toward his chest. Zerath swung his blade with speed and knocked the attack away, letting Anna fly past him as he kept walking.

She skidded to a stop and spun on her heel, swiping her spear toward Zerath's back. The clang of metal pierced the air as Zerath suddenly turned and hit the tip of her spear upward, causing her to miss him entirely.

He took this moment to surge forward, grinding his claymore against the handle to Anna's spear as he swiftly made his way down to her. Once he reached her and was inside her guard, he sent a heavy slash across her body as he ran by her.

Anna rolled forward, biting her lip as she felt the searing pain of fire. She fought through it as she mega-shifted her weapon back to its baseball bat form. Zerath readied himself, keeping his eyes on her as she charged.

Her weapon smashed into his blocking blade as she swung with all her weight. Zerath let her bat bounce off as he blocked another hit. Anna's eyes went wide as she noticed something off about her usual fighting style. She pushed it out of her mind as she just assumed nothing of it and ran in again.

Zerath took a quick swing with his blade only for the faunus to duck the attack and smash her bat into his stomach with her semblance activated. She expected her bat's usual explosion but nothing happened, her bat just thumped against his body and stopped.

A dark chuckle emanated from Zerath as he looked down at her, "Something wrong?"

He stepped to the side not waiting for a response as he sent another heavy slash into her side and kicked her away.

"_How? Why can't I do my thing? What the hell is going on?!"_ Anna screamed internally as she tumbled and rolled to her feet again, flinching slightly at the sight of Zerath's blood red eyes again.

She stormed forward deciding to use brute force instead of her usual explosive damage and entered a clash with Zerath. Sparks flew as metal grinded against metal, the two of them trading blows as they stepped left and right.

Zerath was deftly blocking every one of her hits and returned all of them with ease. He saw an opening as one of Anna's strikes left her open for an attack. With a quick pull of the trigger, his blade snapped across her chest as the recoil from the bullet was used as leverage for the attack. Zerath followed through and spun fully around and lowered down to a crouch, pulling the trigger again and sending his sword circling back toward Anna at blinding speed.

Anna blocked the second hit with her bat but the force behind it sent her skidding back several feet. She recovered quickly and charged Zerath while he was still crouched. Her bat was bought down on him as she put force behind the swing, but Zerath turned on his heel and stood up, using the force of that momentum to slam his sword upward and parry her strike.

Anna got knocked into the air as Zerath brought his claymore back to his side and held it out, waiting. The smaller teen fell back down as he swiped across her body on her way down. After his sword fully passed he pulled the trigger and sent the blade on a lightning fast return trip, hitting her twice within a second.

Zerath watched as Anna rolled over and pointed the handle of her bat toward him. She smirked as she sent an explosive flare toward her opponent, impacting into his chest at close range. However, without her semblance backing the attack it was much weaker than normal.

The dark teen swept through the fiery cloud with his blade and dispersed the explosion in an instant. But Anna used that split second of blindness to charge him while he couldn't see her, sending her bat into his gut just as he dispersed the smoke.

***BOOM!***

Anna visibly smirked at the satisfying sound of her concussive explosion. Her hand felt the familiar vibrations in her bat as she watched Zerath fly back from the hit, smashing through 2 pillars before hitting a third and falling to the ground. He landed on his feet as he leaned against it, readying himself in a low stance.

He ran forward, deciding that he had wasted enough time toying with the girl as they clashed again. Anna blocked but the power behind this attack was much stronger that what she fought earlier, almost as if he was holding back when she attacked him.

Anna's defense was broken in seconds as Zerath knocked her bat out of the way and sent a devastating slash upward, sending her into the air. His claymore shifted into a high caliber black sniper rifle as he brought it up to his flying target.

5 shots sounded out through the air as each shot chunked away from her aura, dropping it into the red as she collided with the ground again.

"AND THAT'S THE MATCH! ZERATH STARK IS THE WINNER!" Ashton exclaimed, but prepared himself just in case.

Zerath's scope never left Anna as she slowly got up and rubbed the back of her neck, he stood for a few moments with the barrel trained on her form.

"_Alright, time to go."_ Zerath's voice echoed in his head as he grudgingly brought his weapon down and shifted it back to its claymore form.

The teen in black holstered his weapon back over his shoulder and walked out of the stadium in silence.

Destiny had been watching the match through the window rather than the TV screen as she felt something was very off with this Zerath and her fears were proven true as she watched. She was one to toy with people and it was obvious he had been doing the same and from what she saw he still hadn't even used his full strength even at the end as she shivered in fear there was something wrong with this person he reminded her far too much of herself as if there were two people fighting for control in that body and she knew things were not going to fare well with whoever was matched against them she wasn't even sure if she could handle him herself which had only ever happened once before in her life.

* * *

**Hey guys! Looks like the first bracket is done, so yeah. ****Andy2396**** was the one who submitted Lockjaw, so thank him for the name. He gave me full freedom on everything else so the rest of his OC was forged from his name alone. I'd also like to thank ****demonic1556**** for helping me come up with his weapon and semblance, and they came out really awesome. Also, Teemo was the last of the ****League of Legends**** characters to be revealed. Like I said before, I do not own them so this was just something I thought would be fun to incorporate into the tournament. For those of you wondering, the next chapter will have Ashton's 'wrap up' announcement and then Sky will entertain you with whatever she feels like doing in the intermission chapter. I don't know how long it'll last chapter wise, but it will be a day of rest for the characters. Aaannyywaay, this has been Xera, **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	36. Skyla's Misadventures

XSRA's Flame Chapter 36: Skyla's Misadventures

**3****rd**** Person**

Ashton stood with Glynda and Ozpin at his sides as he held the mic up for one final time today.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, that is the end to the first bracket! I hope you had fun because it was a heck of a lot of fun to host this. Now, this isn't the end to the tournament! It's just the beginning. The second bracket will start in two days' time; all contestants will have a day of rest tomorrow before competing again." He exclaimed, feeling awkward for actually needing to be informative for once.

He cleared his throat as loud epic music started to play and the screen glowed with light again. On the giant flat image, was the lineup for the first bracket and who won each fight. Each winner will be moving onto the next bracket.

Ashton handed off the mic to Glynda as she called out each match as a recap for the end of the day.

"The first bracket has been fought and decided as follows." She gestured to the screen as it displayed the names of everyone who fought in the tournament and who they matched up against.

Gabriel Stryker vs Coco

Ruby Rose vs Rex Tyro

Melvin Longfellow vs (Mysterious Hooded Guy) no name given at entry

Allix Stowe vs Nora Valkyrie

Pyrrha Nikos vs Pantheon

Tai Blackthrone vs Blake Belladonna

Lie Ren vs Mordant Zurcader

Garren vs Destiny Echols

Patrick O'Harry vs Daemon Rasputin

Xera Stark vs Riggs

Jax Frost vs Jaune Arc

Selena vs Yang Xiao Long

Weiss Schnee vs Skyla Xerious

Green Tsukayoshi vs Zack Ikner

Baz vs Rideat Dente

Teemo vs Sun Wukong

Lockjaw vs Vice Cordik

Anna Clyde vs Zerath Stark

"Now, those who will be moving on into the second bracket will be the ones who were the victors in each match. Moving on in the competition are Gabriel Stryker, Ruby Rose, The Mysterious Guy…" She paused as she looked back at Ashton.

"What? He never gave us a name." He said, shrugging his shoulders and letting Glynda continue.

"Allix Stowe, Pyrrha Nikos, Tai Blackthorne, Mordant Zurcader, Destiny Echols, Patrick O'Harry, Xera Stark, Jax Frost, Yang Xiao Long, Skyla Xerious, Green Tsukayoshi, Rideat Dente, Sun Wukong, Lockjaw, and Zerath Stark." Glynda stepped back again, satisfied with her part and passed the mic off to Ozpin.

"Thank you all for coming today and I hope you'll come again for the second bracket of this competition. It's been interesting, to say the least, to watch all of you compete and fight in this tournament. Now, winning and losing will not affect whether or not I'll be accepting you into my Academy. Please keep that in mind as the competition continues. Try your hardest, and you will be rewarded." Ozpin announced stoically, taking a sip of his coffee as he finished.

Ashton snatched the mic and made the final call to end today. "Enjoy your day people! There will be more so make sure to catch us on the next one! I'll see ya there, and have a good one everyone! Go home, rest up, come back for the second round!"

Everyone cheered and applauded. Slowly, the arena's stands and competitors all filed out of the coliseum and went their separate ways.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

_**(**Back at Beacon after the competitors were set free to enjoy the rest of their day**)**_

I jumped up and down on my bed excited. I had just finished a new Anime and could not wait for the next season. Too bad the next season isn't dubbed.

I flopped down onto the bed with a sigh.

I miss it already.

We have off from classes. Xara's somewhere, most likely with Blakey Boo.

Rex took Anna for coffee, even though she works at a coffee shop.

Allix is off to the city with Ruby and Yang.

And here I am with Ice Queen.

"Will you stop sighing already?" Weiss said from her seat at the desk.

"I'm sorry I can't help it! I miss Sword Art Online!" I complained dramatically.

"Is that what's bothering you? A show?"

I jumped up and rushed towards her in a flash.

"It is not just a show! IT IS MY LIFE!" I shouted flopping back into my bed.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Alright, looks like you need to get out more. I think being locked away in your dorm just made you insane."

I let out a heavy breath, "Yeah, you're probably right. Besides, I need real food. I have been eating chocolate for about seven days."

"I don't think that's healthy…." Weiss said.

I shrugged and looked out the window, thinking of something I can eat.

Something yummy…

Something good…

Something like food.

Duh.

"I'm pretty sure you've only been here for two hours, Skyla. We came back after the tournament ended." Weiss explained, but it proved fruitless. I shall not answer it.

"SEVEN DAYSSS!"

"Okay, Skyla, we have to leave in five minutes to meet up with the group at Anna's café."

I huffed and picked myself up from the bed.

"I LIKE PINEAPPLES!" I shouted racing out the door leaving Weiss behind in a blur.

"My gosh, she's insane." I heard Weiss mutter on my way out.

I giggled and stopped abruptly once I made it into the café. Xera, Allix, Rex, Team RBY, Weiss had yet to leave the dorm still getting ready. JNPR and the two others were sitting there at a large table enjoying a cup of coffee.

"Whaddup people!" I shouted taking a seat beside Allix, who was currently engrossed in a book.

"Hey Skyla." Chorused through the group.

"So, what are we talking about?" I asked, snagging a muffin and taking a bite. A shower of crumbs fell onto the table.

"Skyla! Why must you be so messy?" Allix asked looking up from her book.

Xera had already reached over and cleared the mess meaning you can't blame me for a mess that isn't there.

"It's the muffin!" I argued holding up the muffin.

"Yeah surreee."

"It is! Look at Jaune!" I exclaimed pointing wildly at Jaune, who was frozen with a muffin stuffed in his face and crumbs all over the table.

Everyone laughed as he struggled to say something to defend himself. Pyrrha quickly grabbed a few napkins and began clearing some of the mess left behind by the messy muffin.

Pyrrha laughed and tossed out the napkins, "Maybe it is the muffins leaving behind the mess."

I grinned and motioned to her in victory.

"_I was rigghhtt you were wrrooonngg." _I thought.

"That tournament was awesome! Did you see some of those battles?" Nora gushed excitedly.

Everyone glanced at her confused due to her speed talking.

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

"Wait, you understood her?" Xera whispered, his eyes still on the excited pink haired girl.

I nodded, "It's a hyper girl language."

Xera made a noise of understanding and returned back to his seat.

The bell rang indicating new guests as four familiar people entered the café with curiousity.

"Hey! Its color dude, Irish Rex, The mage, and Jack Frost!" I shouted pointing at them, successfully gaining their attention.

"You mean Green, Patrick, Melvin, and Daemon?" Xera asked.

"You still understood me though." I said as the four guys walked over and took a seat adding to the already crowded table.

"Sup." Patrick said, his voice heavy with his Irish accent.

"sup." I said mimicking his accent, terribly,

Patrick stared at me confused.

Weiss entered next, frowning as usual as she took her seat.

"Hey Weiss. Weiss so serious?" Yang asked erupting into laughter.

"That was TEARable!" I exclaimed grabbing a napkin and tearing it in half.

"Oh it is on!" Yang said slamming her hands onto the table.

"Oh no." Ruby muttered.

"A hero was needed to rise, so Ruby Rose." Yang said smiling.

"You must be a lion, cause you are lion!"

"Hey!" Ruby shouted.

"No offense." I added, smiling nervously.

"There will A-Pyrrha day where Jaune doesn't get injured." Yang challenged, raising an eyebrow.

This time, it was Jaune who shouted "Hey!"

"This is erELEPHANT to anything we're talking about."

"Well you ripped that napkin. You Blake it, you buy it."

Blake looked up at the mention of her name before shaking her head and returning back to her book that was more interesting than this Pun-Off.

"Then I'll alpaca my things."

"I'm just gonna go…" Melvin, Green, Patrick, and Ren said, disappearing towards the counter to order more food and drinks.

"Hey Allix, did you see the new collection of books they have at the bookstore?" Blake asked pointing to the store across the street from the café.

"No I haven't. Let's go check it out!" Allix said as the two teens departed.

"Well since everyone's gone now, truce?" I offered.

Yang smiled and shook hands on it as we calmed back down into our seats.

"So, now that that's over. How would you all like to die?" Daemon asked randomly.

Everyone stared at him shocked.

"What kind of question is that!?" Xera asked.

"Well I was just asking because when my team eventually does go out, I would like for my team and I to die by a meat grinder!" Daemon said.

"Ohhhh, a meat grinder! Sounds interesting!" Nora exclaimed.

"And painful." Jaune added.

"Are you sure you want to die that way?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

Daemon nodded, "It has to be a meat grinder!"

"And your team is okay with that?" Xera asked.

"Well they don't know yet." Daemon added.

I thought about the death. In my head I imagined Daemon teams either cannonballing into it or it chasing after them with sharp teeth and googly eyes saying "IM GONNA GETCHA NOM NOM NOM"

Ahahahahaha I'm crazy.

"Okay….Well I don't want to die so um thanks. Hey Xera! Did you want to get some ice cream?" I asked randomly.

"After talking about being grinded up in a meat grinder?" Xera asked skeptically.

I nodded, "Alright let's go!" I shouted running out the door.

"TO THE BATMOBILE!"

I ran off towards the ice cream parlor with Xera walking slowly behind me enjoying the scenery of Vale.

I, for one, would rather see the ice cream stacked to ten scoops in a chocolate covered cone covered in sprinkles.

Ohh! Or instead of that, soft served ice cream covered in sprinkles and a chocolate dipped cone!

OMG OR OR OR OR OR OR OR OR OR a giant cup of frozen yogurt buried inside a giant mountain of gummy bears!

Getting the gummy bears isn't hard. I mean Jacks Frost has a bowl of unlimited gummy bears. He did offer Jaune some so I'm sure he's willing to share with me. Right?

He's a nice person. He even has a flaming lamp post. He could just smash it on the ground and go rocketing into the sky leaving behind a trail of melted gummy bears.

I entered the sweet smelling shop and sighed happily.

"Finally. Paradise!" I exclaimed happily just as Xera walked in.

"Hey Xera! Get us a table! I'll get some ice cream!" I said rushing over and grabbing two sugary cones.

Xera nodded and turned his back to find the table.

I looked at the machine confused for a second.

There were some crashes and loud noises and when Xera turned around, the whole place looked as if a tornado passed through. The ice cream machines were crushed and had ice cream oozing out. The tables and chairs were over turned and all the toppings were spilled on the ground in a colorful mess. The cashier sat crouched behind the counter in fright while I stood in the center of it all smiling as I held two ice cream cones in both hands.

"Skyla…" Xera trailed off looking at the mess around us.

"I got you mint ice cream and I got Oreo!" I shouted.

"I wanted coffee though" Xera complained.

I looked around the crushed room curiously until I found the coffee ice cream machine. I wobbled over and bite into the mint one before grabbing another cone and filling it with light brown ice cream. After it was full I walked over towards Xera and handed it to him.

"Here's your ice cream!" I exclaimed.

Xera took it carefully, "Thanks."

"So you want to head back to the others?" I asked.

He nodded before taking another look at the destroyed room. He walked towards the cashier and handed him a bunch of lien before walking out. The one thing unnoticed to the two friends and team mates walking out of the now destroyed store, was two figures one girl with ice cream now on her glasses and her wolf ears twitching in annoyance, and a boy who should be black and white but now had some light green in some places on his outfit with puma claws extended expecting some sort of attack to befall them.

"I think I might give a call to Glynda." Xera said to me when we walked out.

"Why?"

"No reason…" He said walking away.

I shrugged and continued eating the ice cream happily. Oreeeooossss.

* * *

**Aaaaannnnddd, this chapter breaks 100,000 words. That's pretty incredible, I had no idea we were going to reach that number so quickly. So, we plan to keep going if anyone's interested, I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. Stick around for the rest of the tournament, the first and biggest bracket has officially ended and the second bracket is up next. Now however, will be a little cool off period. This marks the beginning of the day of break chapters. **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

…

**Thanks Sky for this chapter, she finally got her chance to step in now that the fighting is on halt.**


	37. Stark Brothers

XSRA's Flame Chapter 37: Stark Brothers

**Xera's POV**

I stretched my arms over my head as we all walked out of the ice cream shop. It was a little past midday and the sun was on its way back down to the horizon, casting its orange glow across the city of Vale. The coliseum in the background honestly looked majestic by the way the sun hit it, but that wasn't enough of a distraction for our eminent destruction.

Staring at the scroll in my hand, I contemplated the potential death threats, possibility of actually dying, expulsion, or worst of all losing my access to Ozpin's coffee supply. I shivered at that last thought and re-read the message in my hands for the up-teenth time.

-I'm sorry to inform you that Skyla has officially destroyed yet another ice cream shop. I take full responsibility and will pay for the damages; however I'd like to further push my request for indestructible ice cream machines if at all possible.-

"Whatcha doin?"

I looked up and saw Skyla gazing down at my scroll excitedly. Letting out a strained sigh, I handed the scroll to her as we turned and began walking down the sidewalk. I caught Destiny and Mordant out of the corner of my eye and realized they got caught up in the collateral damage. Giving an apologetic wave to them, I turned back to my partner.

"You know, I think this makes thirteen." I stated, stuffing my hands in my sweatshirt pocket as we walked.

"Thirteen? Has it really been that many?" She asked, still staring at my scroll.

"Mhmm. Although I think you destroyed the one downtown twice. You know, the one by Anna's café. I don't think that guy will see a girl in purple the same way ever again."

She giggled challengingly and extended her arms out to the side, "Are you kidding? I'm going back there tomorrow and you know what, I'll have you with me in case I need backup." She smiled cheerily.

If only she knew.

"I'm sorry Sky, but I can't come with you tomorrow. I'll be busy all day." I responded,adverting my gaze and watching the people walk by on the other side of the street.

"Oh? Got plans with Blakey Boo again?" Skyla teased. I could literally feel her playful gaze on the side of my head.

"No. I need to do this alone." I muttered, bringing my gaze to the ground and watching the sidewalk pass by under me as I walked.

I couldn't see it but I knew my partner was pouting.

"Hey, mind hitting send for me?" I asked, looking over to her out of the corner of my eye. Yup, she was pouting.

She gave it some thought and nodded her head, "Yeah sure." The familiar beep sounded as she hit the send button on my scroll.

"Okay thanks. Now whatever happens will be because you sent the message." I smiled teasingly as I grabbed my scroll from her and put it back in my pocket.

"Hey! No fair! You're the one that typed it!" Skyla whined, kicking the ground as we turned the corner and started walking toward the airship docks.

"But you…" I pointed accusingly as we approached one of the Beacon airships, "…sent it."

She huffed in defeat as we met up with the rest of our group. We all decided to head back to Beacon together and talk about what happened in the arena as we eat.

"Hey guys! Where've you been?" Ruby called out, waving us down.

"Yeah, what's with the delay? I'm hungry!" Rex exclaimed, clutching his stomach in fake pain.

Skyla skipped up and joined the group, "Oh, we were just getting ice cream."

If one would say that just a few words can stop all conversation and strike fear into the hearts of everyone in ear shot, then that would be an understatement. What I just witnessed was pure terror that spread from face to face as I watched amusedly at each person's reaction.

"I-is…is the shop keeper alright?" Pyrrha asked concerned, holding a now unconscious Jaune.

My partner nodded excitedly as she pointed behind her in the general direction of where we came from. "Yup, he's totally not dead or anything."

Pyrrha didn't seem to find any comfort in those words so I elaborated. "He's fine Pyrrha. No need to worry."

"Are you kidding?! How are we not supposed to worry? This is the tenth time this has happened AND IT'S ONLY BEEN A WEEK!" Weiss exclaimed, frustrated and clenching her fists.

"Actually that would make thirteen." Skyla stated nonchalantly, placing a hand on her chin and looking up in thought.

Yang spoke up as she was rubbing Ruby's back and trying to stop her from shaking more than she already was. "Relax ice queen, it's not as bad as destroying a club or something like that."

Weiss's frustration grew as she glared daggers at Yang. "Relax!? You want me to relax! How can I if I know that this city will be destroyed within a month?!"

"I estimate 2 months actually." Ren corrected.

"Ooooooh! I can make it half a month if you want. Just say the word and the next ice cream shop I see will be pulverized!" Nora cheered, whipping out her massive gleaming hammer and slamming it into the ground. She put her foot on it as she looked off into the distance dramatically, as if she was scouting out her next target.

"I don't think that was the point of this conversation, Nora." Ren stated stoically before placing his hand on Nora's shoulder.

Allix just shook her head as she was sitting down on a nearby bench. "It's one thing to destroy a building on purpose, but it's an entirely different thing to do so accidently without meaning to." She chuckled as she watched the bullhead approach from the distance.

"Yup, you said it!" Sun said in a relaxed tone as he was comfortably sat on the other end of the bench. "You guys shoulda seen what Neptune and I did to a casino a while back." He laughed as he reminisced on the bench.

"That both scares me and excites me. But I'm afraid to ask." I stated.

"Yeah, I wouldn't ask." Sun grinned as he stood up. "Anyway, I'll see you all later. I need to go meet up with good old Neptune again." He waved us goodbye as he walked off.

The bullhead landed as we all bid him farewell and turned to board the airship. I sat next to Blake, her eyes were glued to her current book so she was probably only vaguely aware of the group conversation earlier.

"You know, you still never told me what you plan on doing tomorrow." She said, her amber eyes peaking over the top of her book as she leaned against my shoulder.

I sighed as I leaned back, "There's just some place I need to be."

She hummed in recognition, "And I can't come with you?"

I gently shook my head as I looked over into her eyes, "No. Not yet anyway."

The airship took off and we began our short journey up to Beacon academy, pretty soon we reached our cruise speed and would reach the school within 10 minutes. The flight was uneventful aside from the usual conversations and we landed within no time at all.

We all walked off and decided to head straight to the cafeteria to both celebrate and eat as a group. Most of us didn't make it through to the next bracket but that didn't stop Yang from declaring we celebrate back at Beacon for those that did.

* * *

**Skyla's POV**

It's interesting how many people are happy despite losing something. I for one would probably be upset and kill someone if they got annoying.

But the others in our group that did lose were happy for the others who did make it.

"Eh, maybe I should learn a thing or two from them" I thought.

I walked in line for a meal and came out with a pie instead. Because I'm that awesome.

I took a seat beside Xera and Allix and was across from Weiss who was currently giving me a strange look.

"Where did you get that pie?" She asked.

I shrugged and took a bite, "Lunch lady."

"They give out pies?" Xera asked.

I nodded.

"Oh random question," Ruby began, "I remember you guys talking about how you got together with Jax and explored ancient temples! Did you find anything?"

Xera shrugged while I raised my hand happily.

"I got an ancient artifact!" I exclaimed.

The entire table was all ears to this story, interested in the price or the looks of my artifact.

Slowly, I raised the fork I was eating my pie with and pointed at it.

"I found this fork in there."

Yang's eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"A fork?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah! It was on a large pedestal with a spot light on it and I almost died with all those arrow traps protecting it. I thought it was cool looking. Beside it was this golden monkey thing but I thought the fork was so much better." I explained.

"You mean the Ancient Monk lost almost three thousand years ago by the monks of Kerilor?!" Weiss asked slamming her hands down onto the table.

I shrugged, "I guess. Did it have an emerald?"

"Yes!"

"Oh then that's it." I said.

"You could have gotten a priceless artifact that could have been worth millions and instead you got a useless fork?!" Weiss half shouted.

"It's not useless. It makes for a very good eating fork!" I said taking another bite from the pie.

"And that's all it does?" Allix asked skeptically.

I moved the fork around my hands and looked it over curiously. "I guess" I mumbled.

I lifted the half empty pie tin up to scrape the pie crumbs. When I almost reached it, I must have clicked something on the fork because it suddenly shot out into a spear, severing the pie tin and almost hitting Ren in the head. Luckily, he had moved swiftly to the side as if it was an everyday thing.

We stared at the fork in shock before I start cheering.

"My fork is a spear! I've been using a weapon for eating!" I exclaimed.

"Check it out!" I waved it around.

"So you got a spear-fork. What did you and Jax get?" Rex asked Xera.

As if he heard us calling, Jax appeared plopping down in an available seat.

"I got my bowl." he said.

"So you got a fork and you got a bowl. Xera please tell me you didn't get a plate or a spoon." Allix said.

"Nope I didn't get something like that." Xera responded vaguely.

Jax whipped out his bowl and offered the table some gummy bears, "I found my bowl much like Skyla did with her fork spear thingy." He stated casually while snacking from said bowl. "But there was this old guy saying that whatever you put inside it, will be a never ending storage of it. So he said most people chose money."

"And then in the middle of the old man's speech about responsibility, this goofball dropped a single gummy bear in there and boom! Thousands and thousands of gummy bears spill out!" I added.

Everyone burst into laughter.

"I wish I could have seen that!" Yang exclaimed.

"Speaking of seeing, did you see that Zerath dude fight?! Crazy! He totally demolished people!" Rex said, moving his arms around in a rapid manner of recreating the scene.

Anna sunk in her seat slightly but she had to admit, "Yeah, he was a pretty good fighter."

"Aww, come on Anna. You did great! It's not every day you come across a guy like that." Rideat commented, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah! Wasn't his name Zerath Stark?" I asked slowing to a stop.

Blake's ear twitched from behind her bow as everyone looked towards Xera curiously, a sudden realization dawning upon them.

"Xera. Isn't your last name Stark?" Ruby asked.

Xera looked at them, half unwilling to admit it and half nervous.

"Yeah..." He mumbled quietly

"Are you and that Zerath competitor...related?" Weiss asked looking at him.

A heavy silence settled around our little group, the usual craziness was gone in an instant. Blank kept herself hidden behind her book but her gaze was cast in Xera's direction.

Finally, Xera broke the silence.

"Yes."

* * *

**Alright, sorry for the short chapter, but this was just going to be something that leads up to the next chapter. Oh, and hey, look at that. Now all his friends know about Zerath. The next chapter will have that mysterious guy in it, you know, that kind of obvious masked and cloaked competitor. Yeah him! And, since he'll be coming up soon, I might as well say that ****Shadowbane2243**** was right on the money with his comment on who he was. That was Dante from 'Hero of Remnant' by ****andy2396****. So, that should be interesting. Anyway, **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	38. At Least there's Only One

XSRA's Flame Chapter 38: At Least there's Only One

**Xera POV**

"Yes."

Part of me wanted to keep that a secret, but I knew I had to tell them eventually. I'm surprised none of them caught on immediately when he was first announced.

Anna grimaced at the thought and stared defiantly at me, "There's no way, how can a guy like that be related to you?"

"Pretty sure he's killed people." Rideat added absently as he cut a piece of his steak off.

"Where did you get steak?" Rex spoke up, apparently not interested in the prior conversation anymore. After Rideat jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the lunch line, Rex strolled off purposefully on a mission of great importance.

Or so he muttered.

"What do you mean he's killed _people_?" Weiss spoke up.

Rideat shrugged and continued eating, "Just rumors."

"You can't just say something like that if it might not even be true!" The heiress exclaimed, sending a piercing glare at the blind faunus… with no effect considering the obvious.

I do not like where this conversation is going, maybe there's still a chance to let it die? "Rumors are just rumors, there's no need to worry about this. I trust my brother."

"Ah, so you are related." Yang stated.

"I don't think it's by blood though, like Yang and I." Ruby piped up through a mouth full of cookies.

I nodded in understanding and as confirmation, "Pretty much sums it up. He's my adopted brother. A good one too, as far as big brothers go."

"How so?" Blake inquired, quietly snapping her book closed and placing it on her lap. Her hidden cat ears twitched beneath her bow slightly, which have been tuned into the conversation for a while now actually.

Right, I really haven't talked much about all this. She's probably been curious about it but hasn't pushed the subject.

"Well, for starters he was brought into the family when I was only one year old. I just sort of accepted him, you know? After a while we got close and we eventually became as close as brothers can get. We looked out for each other." I stated, though my eyes remained locked on the interesting details of my bottle of ginger ale.

"We always had each other's backs every time we got in trouble wondering around town, which was more often than not considering we liked training in the streets of Vale."

"Training? You mean you trained to be a huntsman in the middle of a city?" Pyrrha asked politely, starting a few other nods from around the table.

I shook my head slightly, though it was partially true. "Zerath and I needed to be able to get out of tight situations, especially since we couldn't exactly afford food at the time. We would run along the rooftops, scale walls using people's windows as foot holds, we would even race to see who could climb the bell tower the fastest. It was all for the thrill but also to keep ourselves fit just in case."

They all nodded in slight understanding, some more so than others. "So you guys did parkour. How did that lead to you becoming a huntsman?" Jaune asked curiously, but he did seem interested in an answer, as well as some others.

"My fighting style relies on being light on my feet and using the environment to my advantage. All swordsmen have to have an understanding of their surroundings, especially since it's strategic to use one's surroundings as a weapon in a fight." I stated, but more so to help Jaune out since he's also a swordsman.

"Cool, so it's like what I do! When I fight, I see a wall and I just _have_ to slam my attacker into it with as much force as possible!" Nora proclaimed excitedly.

"Not exactly but it is kind of similar… in the slightest way possible. He means that he would use a wall to kick off of and dodge attacks, or use obstacles as ways of gaining an advantage." Ren explained to his bubbly partner.

I stared amused at the outburst but she wasn't entirely wrong. Walls make for some very useful target zones. "So, that eventually led to my mom training us with actual blades. It was a lot of fun too, we even had our own preferred style. Zerath really excelled with the bigger swords, like his claymore. He liked using force with his attacks. I preferred to be as fast as possible, so I like wielding two swords. Leona was proficient with every blade so she trained us."

"How did you end up with Annivia's Talons?" Blake asked.

My amused smile wavered slightly and Blake caught it easily. "I'm sorry, I was just curious."

"No, don't be." I interrupted reassuringly. "It really shouldn't be a sore topic, it's just that I made them after Leona passed away. She never got the chance to see my first creation."

Blake gave an understanding smile, as did the rest of the table.

"Anyway, I'm not really one for celebrations so I'm just going to head to my dorm room." I grabbed my soda and headed off toward the doors.

Standing by those same doors was a lone figure flipping through the pages of a white book some might even call it a tome or grimoire. Usually they hold powerful secrets within their pages, but I hadn't the slightest clue for its past or of its wolf-faunus owner.

"That was a beautiful speech, Xera. I too have a sister, though we are like your brother in more ways than we like to admit." She started as I stopped alongside her, slightly curious as to why she listened in.

Destiny finally cast her gaze up to me and locked slightly serious eyes, "Be careful. I'm sure you already know this but there is a dark power coming from your brother. Everyone else might be too blind to have seen it but it was clear as day… he's not normal."

She walked away without another word to go wherever it was Fate decided to take her. It was almost strange as she was walking off it looked like her hair had changed colors to a bright red.

Wait what?

I took a second look but it was its usual black hair that I recognized from the cue room. That was Destiny alright, but she seemed different somehow. I guess that's one more person who's suspicious about Zerath.

I wonder what she figured out about him. I looked away and figured she was just able to observe well enough to assume. Although, I swear I saw her hair change. Then again, maybe not. Shrugging, I passed it off for now as nothing and continued off to my dorm, although my eyes usually don't play tricks on me.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

"He's been kind of distant lately." I heard Blake add after Xera walked out of the cafeteria.

"I thought he was always kind of distant." Yang asked.

"Well, more than usual." Blakey countered, but apparently in a way not to start an argument.

Now that I think about it, he usually likes to hang out with us even though we can go a little crazy with conversation. I think I've even heard him chuckle at times. Even if he's distant, he's always right there to pitch in a witty comment or two. But lately, Blake's right. In the tournament, he wasn't even paying attention to half the matches.

"It's like he's been in thought lately. I don't even think he was focusing on any of the fights in the arena today." I added.

"Wait. So he wasn't even trying in his fight today?" Jaune asked accusingly.

I just shrugged my shoulders, "He still won. Maybe he'll be good to go after tomorrow."

After all, tomorrow I have another trip planned for ice cream. Maybe it'll lighten his mood once he hears about what happens. There will be something crazy, it's inevitable.

***SLAM!***

I jumped slightly and let out a small "EEP" at the sound of something loud slamming onto the end of the table.

"Guess what I found!" Rex called out from behind said object.

"Seriously!? How do you guys keep finding these kind of things in the lunch line!?" Weiss exclaimed, staring with wide eyes at what lay before all of us.

"I don't know but I don't care! Let's eat it!" I called out, immediately being backed up by my secondary partner in crime.

"YEAH!" Nora screamed by my side.

Rex just laughed and pulled out a rather big knife. It would have been scary if not for what lay on the table. With a swift slice, Rex tore the knife through the huge structure and ended it with a clang as the blade struck solid table.

A few more cuts later and we all were in possession of one of the most favorable things I've ever seen in this cafeteria.

CAKE!

* * *

**Xera POV**

I woke up with a start as I shot up in my bed in a cold sweat. My chest pounded as I breathed heavily and stared down at my sheets. Slowing my breathing and heart, I glanced at the clock on the nearby dresser.

Huh, around 2 AM.

With a silent sigh I looked around the room and noticed everyone else seemed to be sleeping contentedly. I crept out of my bed and made my way over to closet and grabbed a sweatshirt, then silently went over to the shared dresser between by Rex and me.

After another peak over my shoulder, everything was good to go. I didn't want to risk any potential noises so I swiftly switched sweatshirts and changed into my usual casual clothes and sneakers.

I grabbed my scroll and left the room quietly, making my way toward Beacon's cliffs and the emerald forest. As I strolled down the dim halls I let my thoughts wander and explore thinking back on Destiny's foreboding words earlier that day.

I can't believe today rolled around so quickly. I guess I got distracted by everything that's been going on that I lost track of time. It doesn't matter though, it's the same deal as before. It has only been five years after all.

My thoughts came to an end as I just barely evaded bumping into someone walking the other way.

"Oh, sorry about that. Didn't think anyone else would be up at this time." He stated as he gave me a once over, he didn't seem to be tired.

"Nah, it was my fault. What are you doing up anyway?" I asked, looking at the unfamiliar teen before me. Does he even go to Beacon? I don't recognize him. He didn't look older than 16 or 17 so he might just be another first year.

He just shrugged his shoulders and met my eyes with his own blue ones. "Can't sleep. I take it you have the same reason?"

I nodded my head but I still looked at him curiously. "Do you attend Beacon?"

"Of course." He said coolly, but his eyes never left my own which happened often unfortunately, but it still made me feel uncomfortable.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone's eyes change to so many colors before." He said, taking a closer look at me.

I just rolled my eyes and fell back on my usual brief explanation for that reason, "Yeah, they reflect emotions. It kind of gets annoying if you're around someone who can read what each color means."

I put my hands in my pockets as I remembered the countless times Skyla called me out whenever I wanted to remain silent about something. It would be pretty funny… if she was accurate and could actually get what each color means correct.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool. Mine are just blue." He said as he finally leaned away from me and ran a hand through his white hair.

Wait, I swear Skyla brought something up about seeing someone with white hair and not a Schnee.

Alright, white hair, black jeans, black sneakers, white t-shirt. Yup, no doubt about it.

"So, no cloak and mask today?" I asked subtly as I began walking again.

He immediately fell into line beside me and walked toward wherever I was going too.

"What gave me away?" The white haired guy asked curiously.

I just pointed up toward my own hair in a suggesting gesture and turned the corner, working my way to the locker room.

"Oh right, I guess Weiss is the only other person with white hair here huh?"

He speaks like he's friends with her. But I've never once seen him with her before let alone anywhere around school.

"I take it you know her?" I asked as we approached the locker room and made our way inside.

He looked away and decided to look around the room, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

I opened my locker and pulled out Annivia's Talons and strapped them onto my back before closing the locker.

"No armor?" He asked as he finished looking around.

"Don't need it." I stated but I was having a hard time getting any kind of read off this guy. "Weiss never mentioned you before."

He chuckled sheepishly at that, "It's a long story if you want to hear it. But are you Xera Stark? You fought in the tournament right?"

I nodded and walked out the door, he seemed interested on following.

"When you were fighting, you used a semblance that looked a lot like one of my friend's semblances from where I come from. They were almost perfectly identical." He continued as he fell in line with me again.

"Really? So you're friends with Blake too then." There's something off about him but I can't seem to put any reason behind my suspicions.

"Sort of. My friends are very similar to your friends." He explained vaguely. "Anyway, mind if I ask where you're going at a time like this?"

Changing the subject, I guess I could ask more about it later. "Mountain climbing." I stated vaguely.

"At a time like this? There's bound to be plenty of grimm out there, especially around the nearby mountains. Which one are you heading for?" The teen asked.

He seems familiar with the area, "The snowy one."

"No fair, there's two of those." He complained, which was kind of amusing.

"Mount Kenna." I supplied with a slight smile.

He went silent for a second but still continued walking with me as we approached a courtyard which led to an abrupt cliff side.

"There's a lot of old grimm there, undoubtedly some very powerful ones. Why would you go there?" He asked as we looked out from atop the cliff. It was still dark but the shattered moon and the starts lit up the night sky as we looked out toward a lone mountain. The darkened trees a couple hundred feet below us filled the gap between the single standing rock face and us.

"There's something I need to see at its summit today." I said solemnly. "You know, I never caught your name." I added, looking over to him.

He smiled and crossed his arms, "The name's Dante. And I'm going with you."

I was a little taken aback by that, why would he come with me even if he knew it was so dangerous. "It's a deadly trek. Why waste the energy?"

Dante just shrugged and looked amused, "I have nothing better to do today."

I was hoping to go alone, but I guess a little company couldn't hurt. I turned Blake down because this was something I thought I had to do alone, but I guess I just didn't want her to see what's out there. Not yet anyway. This guy though. He's a total stranger…

…

What could possibly go wrong?

"Alright then." A few seconds after those words left my mouth I fell backward off the edge of the cliff. I let myself fall for a couple feet before continuing my flip backward and kicking off the cliff face and clearing away from its wall.

To my right I noticed Dante enjoying his own free fall. Neither of us seemed deterred by the speed of which we were plummeting toward the ground. After all, we were at Beacon and that means we always had to be prepared to have a landing strategy.

I flipped forward and dove downward, hopefully reaching the ground well before he did. With a look over my shoulder I noticed he was well behind me now and was watching me curiously. Probably wonder why I sped myself up.

Once I cleared the trees and out of view I immediately shrugged off my sweatshirt a spread my wings just in time. The wind below me literally exploded as I stopped just a foot above the ground as my wings leveled me out and kept me suspended in the air. The wind from the impact blew whatever fallen leaves below me outward in an expanding circle from the initial force.

As quickly as I took the article of clothing off, I dropped silently to my feet and pulled my sweatshirt back over my head. After a few seconds I heard someone laughing loudly as they broke through the tree canopy a couple yards away.

He held a white longsword in his hands and cleaved it into the trunk of a large tree. With a slight grunt of effort he held on and let the sharp place carve its way downward and slow his decent. Dante rolled to the ground and sheathed his blade effortlessly.

"Your arms okay? That looked like it should of hurt." I asked walking over to him.

Dante rolled his shoulders a little bit and flexed his arms, "Nope. All good."

His blue eyes roamed over to me, obviously a little curious about my own landing but I set off in the direction of the mountain.

"So you have two weapon functions?" I asked, this walk was going to be boring so might as well talk about something.

"Actually three." He stated nonchalantly, walking alongside me.

Three? I wonder what that third function is. He already has two close range weapons so it has to be some sort of gun? "I take it you want to keep that a secret."

"Well, I mean it's not really that big of a deal. But it would be a little shocking if you did see it." He explained as we stepped over a couple overgrown roots.

"Not a lot shocks me anymore. But no need to reveal your weapon to a potential opponent if you don't need to." I stated, but it might eventually be revealed if we come across some heavy resistance.

He just shrugged his shoulders again as we continued on. It was still early in the morning so maybe if we got lucky we wouldn't come across too many grimm along the way.

…

If only that were possible.

I heard a low growl echo out from behind a line of bushes. It immediately shattered the somewhat quiet atmosphere of the forest and silenced all surrounding noises with its presence.

"It's an Ursa." He stated quietly, his eyes scanning the surrounding bushes for movement.

"Bound to be more." I added.

Despite the lack of intelligence in grimm they can always somehow attract the attention of all the other grimm in the immediate area.

"Think we can sneak by them?" I asked half-heartedly.

"Where's the fun in that?" Dante asked, pulling out his longsword. Now that I look at it, it looks a lot like a medieval knight's sword, but with modernized simplistic design and a white overhaul. The very base of the blade seemed to be black a couple inches before the hilt.

"Fine with me." I smirked as I detached my own swords from my back, their blades seemingly invisible in the dark forest.

Admittedly, I'm a little surprised that Dante doesn't care about the lack of light. Considering at this time all you'll be able to see would be their red eyes and armor, unless you were a faunus. After all me having this night vision was awesome, but I was impressed that he was quick to decide on attacking.

Another low growl emanated from the opposite bush behind us, followed by the rest of the bushes echoing the call as well.

"You take left I take right?" He offered with a shrug.

I just cast my gaze along the surrounding bushes, numerous piercing red eyes came into view behind the foliage to our left.

"Easy enough."

Just as I said that three ursi shot out of the bushes letting out more ferocious growls as they slammed their way through the leaves and on their way to us.

Here we go.

I leapt over the first ursa as is dove toward me with a nasty snarl and kicked off its head, my curved blade carved its way across the back of his neck easily as I flipped over him, causing it to drop dead.

The other two growled and sent consecutive slashes toward me on my way back to the ground. They aimed both low and high, hoping to catch me off guard but I adjusted myself and slid between their claws as they passed me.

Of course, I didn't pass up the opportunity to slice them off on my way through.

They howled in pain as I landed on my feet between the two. Spinning on my heal, I carved through their sides twice and caused them to back off slightly.

I turned to the one on my left and brought my blade up through its jaw from below, piercing through its head and killing it instantly. I reared my other blade back and swiftly released the blade in an arc straight across the other's chest.

With a howl of frustration it bit through its pain and charged with a limp, careful not to use its amputated limb as it ran. I stole a glance over toward Dante and he seemed to be dispatching his own ursi as well, slicing through them with practiced ease.

I caught my second blade out of the air and spun around, using the force of the catch to fuel my next throw. Going full circle, I released both blades one after the other and watched as they cleaved through my remaining enemy and circled around to cleave through one of Dante's ursa as well before returning back to me.

"Hey!" The white haired teen whined as his ursa dropped dead in front of him.

"Sorry, got bored." I replied humorously.

The forest fell silent again as we looked around. No more ursi, or anything else in the area.

"Huh, that was quick."

He stated what was on both our minds as I swiped my blade through the air, whipping the blood into the grass and left the rest to burn away from the corrosive dust.

"Nice work by the way for fighting in the dark." I commented as I placed Annivia's Talons onto my back.

"Not bad yourself." Dante replied as he sheathed his own blade.

We continued on our way with a couple more encounters, but nothing too major. It was just a couple more ursi and a few beowolves.

The remaining beowolf dropped dead in front of me as we trekked past the halfway point to the mountain.

"I guess it's just the ursi and beowolves who are the morning goers out here." Dante commented sarcastically.

Though I guess we've been lucky enough not to stumble upon any overgrown deathstalkers or king taijitu.

…

The silence around us was immediately destroyed by an ear shattering screech from nearby. Undoubtedly within 50 feet of our current position and the thundering sound of falling trees was unmistakably the sign of it burrowing its way toward us.

"I guess these guys are also morning goers?" I asked rhetorically.

"Unfortunately, it appears so." He responded. "At least there's only one."

…

A second screech sent the surrounding leaves shaking and rattling as another thunderous crashing sounded from another direction.

"Of course. It would've been unfair if it were only one to split between the two of us." I said in morbid humor, earning a chuckle in return.

"Yeah, I would've stolen the final hit from you. Now there's one for each of us." He replied.

Oh this should be fun.

All thoughts ended as trees in front of us and behind us were shattered into splinters and falling timber.

* * *

**Now I'd like to add a little thing that I forgot to mention before and for that I'm sorry. But a good friend kindly reminded me about it so here we go. ****Demonic1556**** guessed that the cloaked teen was Dante, so congrats to you for figuring it out so quickly. On a side note the name of the mountain, 'Kenna', does mean 'Fire'. Which is ironic for being a snow covered mountain but there's a reason behind it. I hope you'll enjoy that, anyway **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	39. My Locker Claims the Final Kill

XSRA's Flame Chapter 39: My Locker Claims the Final Kill

**Xera POV**

"Timber!"

The trees at our front and our back shattered at the bases and were sent toppling over. Leaves were violently rustled and shattered wood struck the hardened ground below, each crash was followed by an ear shattering screech.

"You know, why couldn't we have just stumbled upon little bunnies and squirrels?" I asked sarcastically to no one but myself.

That's a large deathstalker.

…

Very large…

"We got this! Bunnies and squirrels are much tougher than these buggers!" Dante called over his shoulder as he sized up his own grimm.

They were both similar in size, but each one seemed much bigger than any I've encountered during initiation.

I leapt back out of instinct as a large trunk smashed into the ground directly at my feet. Deciding now would be the time, I took a deep breath and looked up.

It took me a second to kick into action and jump, merely evading a premature swipe from my deathstalker's pincer and flipping my body around to kick off of another falling tree.

My initial force landing against it caused it to shift slightly but it's weight was significantly heavier than I was so it made redirection and jumping off of the wood much easier. With a grunt of effort, I kicked off and flipped around in time to land on the deathstalker's back.

The grip on my Annivia's Talons tightened as I swung them both rapidly in a vicious attempt to pierce the grimm's armor. Each clang sent a resounding pang through my arms, but I was only able to strike it at least half a dozen times before it's stinger pulled to the side and swung horizontally at me.

A glimpse out of the corner of my eye was enough to force me to jump over the tail and fall forward again.

Dante was doing much better than I was. He already shattered parts of his deathstalker's armor with his armored gauntlets and was already striking those placed steadily with his longsword. The time it took him to switch between modes was unbelievable.

***Clang!***

I was torn from my observations as my blades blocked a striking blow from my deathstalker's golden stinger.

"You make this look so easy!" I yelled over the screeching and clashing of hardened armor and blades.

"Not my first rodeo! I can usually take more of these guys on at once!" The white haired teen replied as he slammed his sword into a deep crack in his opponent's shell, causing it to screech in anger.

I looked down at my own swords as I side stepped and evaded more deadly strikes from pincers and stingers.

I wonder…

Rearing back my right hand I launched my boomerang at the soft tissue connecting the stinger to the tail. The familiar sound of ripping flesh echoes through the immediate area as I noticed the corrosive blade was able to leave a noticeable gash just below the golden appendage.

I smirked and caught my returning blade to send it straight back in another arc, this time severing at least half of the tissue before coming back to me again. One more was going to finish it off but not before it lashed out in anger and pain, flailing around and sending a flurry of swipes in my direction.

"Whoa!" I ducked under a fast pincer and tumbled to the side to avoid another strike.

This guy's angry.

Rolling to my feet I took off running around it.

I need to keep it still.

With quick precision, I slashed at its multiple legs as I sprinted around the creature. Each leg cracked and shattered in places as I swung my blades in rapid strikes at every appendage I ran past.

The screech that followed was ear rattling as it scurried in pained attempts to circle around and attack me, but it failed and only became a crumpled heap as I slashed at its final leg.

None of the legs were severed, they were just sliced and broken for the most part, I think.

Without another second wasted, I returned to its front and lobbed my blade over my head in a wide arc. It sailed far beyond the grounded deathstalker and curved around the tops of a couple trees before making its hasty return trip.

I watched as its planned trajectory sent it hurtling straight through the remaining flesh that was holding its stinger in place. My blade returned just as the heavy golden piece plummeted down, the gravity behind its fall was enough for the tip of it to pierce through just behind the center of its back.

The giant scorpion howled in agony as its own stinger broke through its armor and sunk into its lower back, successfully causing more cracks to form and expand across the rest of its shell.

"You know what, I'm getting kind of hungry. Hey Dante!"

"Yeah?!" Dante replied just as he rolled out from beneath his deathstalker and walking casually over to me, his opponent only stood for another second before collapsing to the ground and losing the red gleam in its eyes.

"Wanna see something I've always wanted to try?" I asked as he stood behind me, staring at the still screeching creature in front of me.

"Sure." He just shrugged his shoulders as I turned back to my target.

I hope Glynda doesn't kill me for this.

…

I swiftly pulled out my scroll and unlocked it, immediately accessing my locker information and activating the emergency deploy option. With a quick reference to my location I typed in the coordinates I wanted and hit the call button.

Behind us, a loud missile taking off echoed out from the distant Beacon as a small rectangular object hurtled through the dark sky. Its pulsing thruster was easily visible as it cleared the distance to reach its target within seconds.

***CRASH!***

My locked smashed into the embedded stinger and sent the entire deathstalker rearing up from the sudden impact. A satisfied smirk crossed my lips as I dashed forward and plunged my blades through its soft underbelly, effectively ripping through it as I tore my way across its surface before retracting my blades and diving to the side.

Rolling to my feet I slashed my swords to my sides whipping whatever it was on the blades away as I stashed them onto my back, a noticeable click sounded as they locked into place just beneath my hood.

"I can't believe that worked." Dante spoke, a hint of shock was found in his voice and he looked genuinely impressed.

"Yeah me too. I just wanted to see if it was heavy enough." I replied as I leaped onto the dead creature's back and examined my locker.

"Looks good. No damage visible." I muttered as I gave it a thorough observation.

"Really? Not even a little scratch?" Dante asked unbelievingly as he hopped up next to me.

"Nope." I replied simply, my shoulders relaxing dramatically as I realized everything worked out and I wouldn't be reprimanded for destroying an academy locker. "I've added some reinforcements to its armor with my own materials, mainly because of my partner though."

He quirked an eyebrow at that as I glanced at him.

"Oh, Skyla likes to snack a lot on training trips so I keep my locker stocked full of all kinds of snack food. It helps to have a durable locker if you're going to be calling it often." I explained as I opened my locker.

My body locked up as I gazed inside, my mind couldn't even comprehend what I saw.

* * *

**Skyla POV**

I mumbled in my sleep as I rolled around, tangling myself in the confines of my blanket.

Mmmmm…

…

Ice cream…

…

Marshmallows…

Shuffling around in my lazy conscious state of dreaming of sweets, I tangled myself even more as I stuffed my face into the bed.

…

Tasty…

…

I rolled around again as I nipped at my sheets and clutched my pillow to my chest.

…

No wait. Why is my marshmallow running away?

…

***THUMP!***

…

"Owwwwy." I groaned as I cracked my eyes open and lifted my head. "Why is my bed so high up?" I grumbled as I looked around the dark room.

Oh…

I'm on the floor.

***Grumble***

And I'm hungry.

Shifting to a sitting position and pulling my blanket around myself, I looked at the time and noticed it was around 5 AM.

"Never too early to have a snack." I told myself in a hushed tone as I stood up and padded my way across our dorm room to the mini-fridge.

Cracking it open I was met with nothingness, an absolute barren waste land.

"No fair."

I closed the door silently and stood up, stretching my arms over my head and stretching as I let my blanket droop loosely on my shoulders.

Hmm... I hummed as I padded my way to the closet and slipped into my comfy fluffy boots.

"Maybe Xera has some extra food in his locker. Good thing I know his combination!" I exclaimed silently in triumph, keeping my blanket around me as I made my way out of the dorm room with my scroll.

It's always so cold in our room without Xera around.

I cuddled into my soft blanket as I strolled down the brisk hallway, working my way to the weapon's locker room to satisfy my hunger.

Turning the corner, I lazily stumbled into the locker area and my eyes roamed across the metal objects lining the walls. They soon stopped on what I was looking for and I halted my adventure in front of Xera's locker.

"Here we are… please be the same number."

***Click***

"Ahah!" The door swung open as I immediately reached in and cracked open his hidden storage compartment. My eyes went wide as saucers as I noticed all the foods within the confines of Xera's locker.

"Whoa. He's really stocked it full this time." I mumbled to myself as I stared at the items.

…

Oooo! Marshmallows!

I leaned in and reached into the far back of the locker-

***SLAM!***

The door slammed shut behind me and everything went dark. The next thing I knew was my world completely turning upside down as I lost all sense of gravity and direction. All I could hear was a constant loud noise as I clutched my blanket in fear and squealed at every jostle and jump of the locker.

"Why do I have this sinking feeling?" I asked myself as things seemed to have calmed down a bit, only to feel the container start to plummet downward for some reason.

Not wanting to take any risks, I put everything I got into flooding my lower half with aura and generating the fastest aura shield I could muster up.

* * *

**Xera POV**

"S-Skyla!" I exclaimed as I saw my partner curled up in a little ball at the base of my locker. Her blanket was wrapped loosely around herself and she looked equally as shocked as I was.

"Hey Xera!" Skyla called out excitedly, "And mysterious guy!" She added as her gaze switched to Dante beside me.

"Hello again." He greeted and gave her a small wave.

"Umm, Sky? Why are you in my locker?" I asked as I gave her a once over.

She hummed in thought as she cuddled into her blanket more and brought her shoulder's up in an attempt to seek more warmth by her blanket, "I got hungry."

I nodded my head and noticed that she was still in her pajamas, or at least she probably was beneath that blanket.

"Well, you weren't kidding then." Dante commented as he watched the spectacle before him.

I chuckled sheepishly as I crouched in front of my partner.

"You just killed a deathstalker." I stated simply to her.

She looked around and past us, "Wait, where am I? And what do you mean?"

"You landed on the deathstalker's back and killed it, just like Nora did during initiation. Oh, and you're outside of Beacon right now." I explained.

"Oh cool! Hey hey hey can I eat some of your snacks?!" Skyla asked excitedly, pointing to the snack compartment.

I smiled and nodded my head, "Of course."

Standing up I opened up the loosely closed hidden panel and behind it was a large stockpile of all kinds of snacks. There were graham crackers, sour crème and onion potato chips, sunflower seeds, chocolate covered raisins, chocolate bars, granola bars, marshmallows, back up coffee supplies, and more that was hidden beneath the layers.

"That's a lot of snacks." I heard Dante comment as he peered over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I know." I said as I pulled out a small bag of marshmallows, a chocolate bar and a small package of graham crackers.

The teen just shrugged, "Why not, Hey got any soda?"

I froze in place as a shiver ran down my spine. "N-no, no soda."

Skyla seemed to see this and started her own giggle fits inside my locker, she even pulled her blanket up to hide her face as I saw her shoulders shaking rapidly.

Realization dawned on Dante as he began to laugh hysterically, "I… okay… that… was a stupid question!" He spoke between gasps of air.

I shook my head and returned my gaze back to the snack items in my hands.

"Yeah, it's a ridiculous story too. Let's just say Skyla and I learned firsthand not to pack soda in a rocket propelled locker. Anyway, you like s'mores?" I sighed as I remembered back to our first supposed 'camping' trip outside of Beacon, if you could even call it that.

"Of course I like s'mores, who doesn't?" He replied eyeing the contents in my hands.

"Oh oh, I love s'mores!" Skyla pitched in.

I cracked a small smirk and shrugged before gently kicking the door to my locker closed and saying a quick sorry to Skyla.

"Once you finish eating and land back at Beacon, you should probably head to bed again. It's still really early." I spoke against the locker. I waited a little bit and heard a muffled "Okay." before hitting the manual return button.

The reinforced Beacon official Skyla snagging snack transporting orbital missile was propelled back into the air with a quick burst of ignition before turning and making its return trip back into place at the weapon's locker room.

"Okey dokie." I added as I hopped off the deathstalker's back and landed nimbly on my feet.

He landed alongside me as we began walking again, "She seems like a fun person."

You have no idea. I turned to him as we passed by some more trees, "You can walk and snack right?" I asked, just to be safe.

"Yup." Dante replied simply as we headed in the direction of Mount Kenna.

I handed him two graham crackers and broke him half of my chocolate bar. There were only a couple marshmallows left in the bag, but it didn't really matter since they were probably all going to be eaten soon anyway.

"Here." I said as I offered him the open end of the bag. He reached in and quickly extracted a soft white fluffy thing.

"Hey, so how are we going to cook them on the move anyway?" He asked as he held his marshmallow questioningly while he had his graham cracker halves and chocolate in the other hand.

"Oh right, you don't need to worry about that actually." I said, pulling out my own marshmallow and stashing the nearly empty bag in my pocket for now.

Dante looked like he was in thought for a few seconds before shrugging and looking at me curiously, "How so?"

I focused my aura down my arm, envisioning it flowing to my finger tips and encasing the little white marshmallow in my hand as I let the fire concentrate just above my palm. The entire object was engulfed in fire before I quickly blew it out and admired the slightly crispy golden hue it gave off.

"See, a perfect marshmallow in seconds." I commented as I mushed it between my own graham crackers, making sure the piece of chocolate was in the sandwich as well.

"That's pretty cool, do you have a semblance like Yang's or something?" He asked as his gaze remained fixed on my s'more.

"Nah, that's just something I was born with. It turned out I have an affinity to fire." I explained the basics of it. Honestly it's a lot more complicated than that but that explanation was just a way to keep it simple.

Dante seemed to give it some thought, probably trying to think of anyone he knows that would have something similar. "Affinity huh? So you can produce and manipulate an element."

"Yeah, pretty much." I nodded. "By the way, hand me your marshmallow.

He nodded and handed me the treat, within seconds it was on fire and I gave it a quick wave to disperse the flames, not wanting to breath on another man's food.

"Alright, that should be good." I said, handing him back the snack before finally taking a bite out of mine.

"Hey, how come you weren't using it much to fight back there? It would've undoubtedly made things easier." He asked as he crushed his own creation together.

Now that I think about it. I didn't even realize that I've become so used to keeping it at bay that it's become second nature to fight without it.

"Right…" I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly with my free hand, "There's actually a pretty funny story behind that, maybe."

Dante took a bite of his own s'more, waiting for me to continue.

"Yeah… I sort of… actually I came very close to…" I took a silent breath and muttered sheepishly, "…destroying half of Beacon four years ago."

His eyes went wide as he sputtered to swallow the crumbled bite that he took.

"Wait, what? How?!" His blue eyes widened as he stared at me.

"Back then I was still emotionally angry at literally everything, so I sort of went a little overboard in a training session and went all out. Essentially, I went super nova." I adverted my eyes and as I explained, silently thankful that no one was hurt during that incident.

…

"Alright I think I get it. You're afraid to see what happens if you go all out again." Dante stated after passing by a few more trees in silence.

I shook my head slightly at that, "Kind of. It's more because I'm forbidden from going all out for now… Glynda's orders."

He was slightly shocked by that but anyone would be in all honesty, I'm surprised he wasn't freaking out.

I could tell he was about to ask why but the words fell silent as we broke through the tree line and into a large grassy clearing. Dead ahead of us about 300 yards out was the jagged side of a massive mountain. Its surface was littered with snow and a dangerously angled pathway could just be barely noticed winding around the base of the structure and disappearing behind the side as it wounded upward.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and began making my way toward the mountain's base.

"So this is Mount Kenna. I don't think I've ever been here before." Dante commented as he stared up at the tall structure towering over the forest. It was a lone mountain, there were no mountains nearby or any maintain ranges, it was alone in a sea of trees and centralized in a wide clearing.

My temporary companion shook himself out of his stupor before falling in line with me again, the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon and its glow illuminated the mountainside beautifully. Its rays bounced off the crystal snow and began to cast across the tops of the trees behind and around us.

"It's going to be one hell of a view once we get up there." He added noticing the way the sun hit our surrounding.

"Yeah, no kidding." I replied, remembering that this mountain's view could easily take any traveler's breath away.

If only I could have shared it with her.

She would've been so happy. I would give anything to see her smile again, to see her eyes gleam with happiness, to hear her soft voice or love filled laughter, even just simply be in her presence.

It's been 5 years and counting.

I gazed up at the illuminated mountain, staring longingly at its peak as I stopped walking. My eyes lingered on the golden glow as it slowly made its way to the tip of the lonely mountain. Letting out a long sigh, I looked away and continued walking.

…

I wish I could have seen her face again…

…

…one last time.

* * *

**Have any of you ever had a s'more? Well, they're pretty great if you ask anyone who has. I am one who has tried the treat and I'll admit… they are pretty tasty. But I don't think I can ever eat more than one in a single sitting. Yeah I know, kind of weak huh. Hey, what did you think about using a locker as a weapon? I thought it was pretty cool, and if you're also wondering about if Skyla is okay. Yeah, she should be fine. After all, Jaune survived his own little trip in a locker no thanks to Cardin Winchester. Anyway, now that the sad atmosphere has been abruptly broken by the mention of a tasty snack and a locker, it would mean a lot to know if you are enjoying the story so far. If you could, please **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…and have a good one! One last thing, ****Demonic1556**** has already figured out what's at the top of Mount Kenna. So yeah, props to you and the rest of the readers will find out for themselves in the very near future. I'll Cya next time XD**

…

**I think a certain ice cream shop is in peril come next chapter. And the only witness…well, that'd be a certain member of the Blackthorne family. I wonder if he'll be okay.**


	40. The Flame to my Burning Heart

**Sorry about the wait, things happened and life became busy. Beta Reader even got sick as of right now, so yeah. Wish them well if they're still sick by the time you read this, and one more thing. I'm finally going to start adding this little intro to each chapter following this one. I figured they needed some much needed recognition and I'm extremely thankful for each of their help. Allix is an unbelievable editor, even puts up with Sky… for the most part. Skyla is just fun to write with and brainstorm for ideas, usually I can decipher and correctly output what ever randomness that occurs into writing and words. Lastly, I have a Beta. Yeah, demonic1556 is a great beta reader and awesome to go to for some ideas. Anyway, that's about it. Cya at the bottom, enjoy chapter 40!**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 40: The Flame to my Burning Heart

_-5 years ago-_

_37 seconds._

…

_All escapes barricaded, the cabin was ransacked, and a mother sat in the darkness behind the farthest closet door with her son wrapped in her arms. She glowed faintly, her aura pulsating occasionally as she took steady breaths and tried to ignore the numerous sounds of distant pitched beeping._

…

_35 seconds._

…

"_M-mom? I'm scared." Xera spoke with a shaky voice, his eyes shined in the darkness and glistened from the light breaking through the bottom of the door._

"_Shhh, Xera honey don't be afraid. Everything will be alright." Leona consoled the boy in her arms. She rubbed her hand along his back and grazed over the wings beneath the cloth._

_Her body continued to pulse and glow as more and more aura left her being._

…

_28 seconds._

…

"_Xera, you need to listen to me very carefully. Out of everything that I've taught you, everything that you've learned I want you to remember one thing." Leona spoke quietly in a breathless voice. She could feel her energy leaving her and her connection to her aura slowly dissipating from her being._

"_N-never show anyone my wings?" Xera asked, looking up at his mother._

_She chuckled quietly before shaking her head, "No honey, you can decide that one on your own. When it comes time, you will eventually show someone you trust what makes you who you are. You are a phoenix, so you are supposed to be proud of your wings. They both protect you and guide you, and to show that to someone proves the absolute trust you share with that person."_

_She took a steady breath and continued to maintain focus on her task at hand. Her aura was fading quickly now and losing its usual vibrant color._

"_You need to promise me that you'll keep moving forward and that you'll always keep your heart open. No matter what happens, I don't want you looking back on today and grieve, or cry, or feel sorrow. You need to move on." Leona stated, tears began to build in the corners of her eyes as she looked into Xera's._

…

_15 seconds._

…

"_That's not fair. You are the best mother in the world, why can't I cry once you're g-" He took a shaky breath and looked away, "Once you're gone?"_

"_Oh Xera." Leona spoke kindly, pulling Xera closer and turning his head to look back into her eyes, her hand gently placed beneath his chin as simple support. "You have every right to cry. But I don't want you to dwell on this. No one should look into the past forever, those who do can never truly move on."_

_Xera sniffed a few times and nodded his head, "I-I'll try." He muttered._

"_Good." The woman smiled proudly, her tears falling free as she held Xera closer. Her aura's color began to fade and grow dim as it continued to pulse on and off._

…

_8 seconds._

…

"_One more thing my little phoenix." Leona said, resting her chin atop her son's head._

…

_6 seconds._

…

"_Know that I love you with all my heart. Nothing will ever change that, not time, not power, not even death. I'll always love you, always remember that. You'll always be the flame to my eternal burning heart." She said between breaths and tears._

…

_5 seconds._

…

_Leona gripped Xera tighter as the last of her aura left her body. Her life force seemed like it was missing a piece of itself now._

…

_3 seconds._

…

_Xera took a shaky breath and held onto his mother as he began to speak the final word's he'll ever say to his loving mother._

…

_2 seconds._

…

"_Mom, I lov-"_

…

_Then everything went white, the words died off only to be followed by a sudden bright light and shattered wood._

* * *

**Xera POV**

I stared in front of me, my gaze drifting and my thoughts returning to me.

We continued walking across the field before quickly making our way to the start of the mountain's path. It was sharp and winded its way steeply up the mountain side and along its bends.

"So, you good to keep going? It'll get pretty cold." I said, looking over toward Dante before looking up toward the mountain, almost all of it was covered in snow and ice aside from the very base.

"I'm fine." Dante stated, rolling his shoulders a bit and running a hand through his white hair.

"Alright then." I started walking up the steep incline, it was about a 30 to 40 degree angle already and it was only at the base.

We made our way up and not long after we started, the wind began to pick up and the ground began to become covered in thick layers of snow.

"Dude, how do you do that?!" Dante called out over the sharp wind. He was trudging his way through the deep snow. The cold substance almost reached just below his knees.

"How do I do what?" I asked.

He looked at me unbelievingly before pointing toward my feet. I looked down and realized I was walking on the surface of the snow instead of knee deep like Dante.

"Oh." I muttered, realizing that I never even noticed what I was doing.

"You must be pretty freaking light to walk on snow, Xera. How much do you even weigh?" He asked as we continued walking.

"Enough to stand on a foot of snow." I responded, receiving a chuckle in return as he shook his head.

We continued our way up and worked our way past the halfway mark pretty easily. By then the wind started to pick up and the snow started to drift, making walking harder and visuals much more difficult to see.

I noticed a group of shadows make their way through the white haze that surrounded us. One of them seemed to stop before heading toward us, the others following close behind.

"Looks like we have company." Dante called out as he unsheathed his sword.

I disconnected my blades from my back and eyed down our opposition. I didn't see anything other than a black silhouette approaching, it slowly grew bigger as it drew nearer to us. It was only then that I heard the low growling and the prowling of claws scraping stone beneath the snow.

Out of the wall of white, a pitch black panther-like grimm lunged out of its cover barring its teeth and letting out a ferocious feline growl. It didn't appear to have any armor but its fur was sleek and black all along its body, it's eyes were piercing red and its fangs were longer and sharper than normal.

"Erebas." I muttered as I eyed the enemy in front of me, making sure to keep my eyes on the shadows moving around us as well.

"Dante be careful around these guys! They can literally disappear when they want to!" I called out in warning just as two more lunged out and clawed at Dante.

He jumped back and slashed through the first ereba's stomach, eliciting a pained yelp as the other attacked ferociously in response.

I turned just in time to roll under two that pounced for me. Before my roll ended a third sat in wait and slashed at my side only for its claws to pass through the hologram I projected just in time. It missed making contact with my own body as I rolled to the side.

In the last seconds of my semblance, I lurched forward and drove my corrosive blades through the back of one ereba's neck before moving on to plunging my blade into the maw of the next.

The two creatures fell limp to the ground as I eyed down my last opposition, keeping it in sight as it stalked around me and observed me with an instinctive glare.

The panther-like grimm let out another feral growl before pouncing back into the wall of white and disappearing. I waited a few seconds, listening to the sound of crunching snow. Two thuds sounded out as Dante took a deep breath, letting his frozen breath out in silence as he watched our surroundings for more.

I held up my hand to him as I closed my eyes, focusing past the howling winds. Blocking it out with minor effort and just focusing on any unnatural noise.

…

…

…

There!

I spun on my heel and threw my second blade into the blinding white surroundings. I waited a second to listen to hardened metal slicing through the rushing winds before the sound of flesh tearing and a noticeable thud echoed off the surrounding rocks. A few seconds later my blade returned to my hand burning away whatever blood it had on it.

"Well that was impressive." Dante commented, "You think it's dead?"

"If the cut doesn't kill him, I know what will." I responded as I connected Annivia's Talons to my back and began working my way up the mountain again.

Dante followed behind and sheathed his own blade. "You're a very vague guy, you know that? But, everyone has their reasons."

I nodded and we pushed past the next hour or so by trudging through snow, well I was walking on top of it with ease, Dante was doing all the trudging. Within that time we reached just below the peak and the wind noticeably died down as we rounded the final bend.

"So, what's at the top of this thing?" Dante asked.

It was a good question, one that he probably has the right to know since he's helped me get here.

"It's personal." I began, "But, I'll tell you since you helped me out."

He shrugged his shoulders, "If you want to tell me, I won't stop you. I honestly didn't have anything better to do today."

Nodding my head, I slowed my pace a bit and continued. "5 years ago, on this day. Leona Stark passed away. She was my mother."

Dante followed silently at my side, no doubt piecing it together.

"She died protecting me but didn't want me to grieve her loss." I gave a sad chuckle to that, "What kind of person would I be if I didn't grieve my mother's death? So, I did grieve for a while. It was tough. It would have been a lot harder if I did it alone however."

"I have a lot of people to thank for pulling me out of that hole I dug myself into." I sighed and stopped walking, looking up past the peak and into the sky just as the sun's light broke through. "I moved on though, but not without building her a grave."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, soon after words followed the gesture. "I'm sorry to hear about your mother. It's the right thing to do, to make a grave in a beautiful place like this and visit it."

Putting my hands in my pockets, I turned my head and looked over at him. "You know, you're a lot shorter when I'm standing on a foot of snow."

He cracked a smile and pulled his hand back, "And the mood just shattered, way to go."

"Hey, I hate depressing moods and serious stuff. I can't help it if I try to break the mood." I shrugged and defended myself.

Dante looked over my shoulder and his hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword. I turned around just in time to see a furry white blur leap from the top of a tall rock and tackle me to the ground.

Two ice blue eyes stared at me as its weight pushed me against the snow. The animal looked me over and let out a low growl.

"It's good to see you too, Zyther." I smiled and reached up to pet her.

The growling stopped and was replaced with a deep purr.

"Is that a frost tiger?" Dante asked, sword drawn. He looked like he was ready to attack but the look of confusion threw the whole image off.

"Yeah, I met her the first year I came here. She tried to kill me too." I explained as I scratched behind one of Zyther's ears.

She brushed her head against me before her ears perked up and she caught the scent of something. Her nose followed my arm and down to my stomach before nudging it against my pocket.

I smirked and pulled out the left over marshmallows from earlier and took out the remaining treats. Stuffing the empty bag back into my pocket, I fed the last few marshmallows to the white tiger.

"Well, I said she tried didn't I? Turns out she likes marshmallows and I'm not so easily killed." I shrugged as Zyther cautiously ate the last treat and turned toward the teen still wielding a blade.

"I guess I can put this away?" Said teen asked before Zyther let out a ferocious growl.

"Okay! Okay! Putting it away." Dante quickly sheathed his blade and raised his hands in mock surrender.

I smiled and gave Zyther another pet before walking again.

"This is her territory. She does well to defend it and within it is Leona's grave. So I'm happy to leave it in good hands." I commented as we trudged through the final bend and finally reached the mountains peak.

At that moment, all wind died down and the sun shone brightly in the distance. It was still rising over the horizon and reflected a magnificent glow off the surrounding snow atop the peak.

In the center of the mountain top, a pillar of crystal-like ice stood and at its base was a small metal chest and an engraving that was etched into the ice.

"The Flame to my Burning Heart." Dante read off.

Below the engraving was: _Here Lies Leona Stark._ And below that: _Lover, Fighter, Mother, Savior._

I crouched down in front of the make shift grave stone and placed my hand against her name. I felt something fluffy nudge my side and I looked over to see Zyther pushing up against me like a cat, almost like she was consoling me.

Smiling, I muttered my thanks and reached into my pocket.

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and pulled out a small simple black book with gold engraved lettering.

I finished filling it out yesterday.

Just in time for today.

I opened my eyes and ran my fingers over the title and read the back one more time, reading each word and taking it to heart I reached over and opened the nearby chest.

Inside were four other books, each one a slightly different color. Sadly, this was the last of the journal's she gave me. I only received five from her, each one had a different inscription on the back but they all held the same meaning.

A tear threatened to fall from my eye as I placed the book in the chest and closed it silently.

"I love you mom, I always will."

Patting the chest, I stood back up and stuffed my hands back into my pockets.

"You can probably head back now. You've done all you can, Dante." I said, not looking away from the ice that stood tall before me.

"Aren't you coming back with me?" He asked in confusion.

"I have one more stop to make. This one though, this won't be somewhere I want you to follow." I sighed as I looked out into the distance and walked up the back edge of the mountain top.

It was a southern mountain, meaning it was south of Vytal and overlooked the ocean and the nearby surrounding forests. It was in every way a beautiful sight, one that I will eventually share with my friends.

Given time, they'll all see this.

Dante stepped up next to me and took a deep breath, looking out over the bright glowing ocean and the sea of trees below. "It is an incredible view. I'm glad I came with you on this little journey."

I nodded, "Yeah, the journey here was pretty fun."

He smirked and patted my shoulder again. "I'll see you around, whether that is in the tournament or outside of it. We'll probably see each other again, I guarantee it."

I smiled back and he began to walk off, "See you later, Dante."

He waved over his shoulder as he left. The wind gently riffled through his hair as he hiked back down the mountain's path and disappeared from view.

With a deep breath, I took in the view once more before closing my eyes and leaping forward. The wind immediately threw itself against me as I dove and fell against the rushing air. My sweatshirt was soon shrugged off and I took flight, my wings easily letting me glide from a high altitude like Mount Kenna and I made my way through the sky.

There was only one more place that I needed to go today, and I don't think I'm going to like it.

* * *

**Skyla's POV**

I grinned and walked out, ready to get some Oreo Ice cream.

Today, I planned to get ice cream. So, it is ice cream that I am going to devour and nothing will stop me.

Hmmm I wonder if there's an open ice cream parlor today. One that I did not somehow get destroyed this week.

As I exited my room, I ran into Jaune who was just walking back from somewhere.

"Hey Jaune." I said.

"Hey Skyla. Where are you heading?" He asked, one hand on the door knob leading to his room.

"The ice cream parlor with Dante." I said casually, walking down the hall.

Oh yeah, I wanted to find that mysterious guy again and see if he'll be all suspicious.

Behind me, a little girl released a high pitched scream and the sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the hallway. The sudden noise was followed by, "SKYLA'S GOING TO AN ICE CREAM SHOP!"

From inside the room, I heard multiple more screams.

"What is their problem with ice cream? It's like it's terrifying to them." I thought exiting the building.

I quickly strolled through the lounge and down into the courtyard. I found Dante, or the one I remembered standing next to Xera back in the forest, sitting outside the main building on a bench. He had some sort of large black and white sheath in hand and was cleaning a white sword. I skipped over and took a seat beside him, grinning.

"Hey Dante!" I exclaimed.

His blue eyes flicked to me before going back to what he was doing, "Hey Skyla."

"Wanna go get some ice cream? I ran out of food inside my dorm."

He shrugged and slid his longsword into the sheath before getting up, "Sure."

"Hey!" I shouted somewhat surprised by his relaxed reaction. "You didn't scream or hide or panic about the safety of the guy behind the cashier!" I pointed out.

Dante tilted his head in confusion, "Why would I do that?"

I shrugged, "Not sure. Everybody else does it though."

We walked towards the Beacon airships and made our way onboard.

I couldn't wait considering the last time I had ice cream was like two hours ago and I needed a refill.

We landed soon after and got off the bullhead. As we walked, we ran into another mysterious dude.

He was tall and thin, and had black long hair with purple streaks in it. Oh! Purple streaks! Just like me!

"Hi mister tall guy, you were in the first bracket of the tournament right?!"

His hands were stuffed in his sleeveless trench coat pockets as he was walking by but stopped just in front of us. Probably because I was in his way.

"Yep, and I'm guessing you were too?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

"Mhmm, hey now that I think about it you were the one who could make guns fall out of portal things! That's awesome!" I exclaimed as I swayed back and forth.

The guy smiled and a large mechanical octagon shaped box fell out of a ripple in the air just next to us. Upon impact its corners made an unsealing pop before they expanded and jutted out about 3 feet before slamming down and pushing downward. It had a joint like knee in the middle of the appendage that made it almost look like some sort of four legged robot.

"Check this out." He stated, activating a switch on the raised box.

The entire body seemed to disassemble and panels shifted to reveal two rising gattling barrels, each one pointed forward and red sensory lasers beamed to life as it scanned the surroundings.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, looking over the machine in front of us.

"That's awesome." Dante commented as he stepped up to it. "What's it made out of?"

"Reinforced titanium alloy." The guy said, patting the top of one of the barrels. "Took a while to build, even longer to program, I couldn't do it alone though."

"So this is an automated deployable turret?" Dante continued, gliding his hand across the metal panels and peering inside the cracks to see the wiring.

The guy nodded, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. It's not ready though, I'm still trying to figure out how to program it to determine the difference between allies and enemies."

"I'd say I would help you but I'm leaving town after the tournament." My companion made his statement before finally taking his eyes off of the turret.

I looked between the two, wondering what to say before an idea shot through my head.

"Hey! Wanna get some ice cream with us?" I asked.

He thought for a second before nodding, "You know, I could actually really use some ice cream right now. The name's Tai Blackthorne by the way." Tai added before hitting the switch again and the turret retracted into its portable box form.

With effort and a grunt later, Tai managed to lift it enough to drop it into one of his portals.

"Heh, yeah. I never figured out the weight issue either."

* * *

**3rd Person**

Skyla happily skipped over toward the nearest ice cream shop, her new two ice cream companions followed behind her. As the girl in purple walked into the shop, all the customers, especially those who recognized her, made individual noises of fear and quickly ran out the shop. Those who didn't followed in suit. The cashier squeaked and hid behind the counter, shaking and quivering.

Skyla skipped over and peered over the counter curiously.

"Hello." She said.

The cashier guy looked up at her with a pale face.

"H-hello..."

"Can I get some ice cream?" She asked grinning.

The cashier got up shaky and went to grab the ice cream scooper before the teen stopped him.

"Wait! Can I get it myself?" She asked, reaching her hand out.

"Uh, I don't know…" The cashier trailed off, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Come on! Please!" She said snatching the scooper from him.

Outside, the parlor looked as normal as ever, people walked by on their way to the local shops around this part of the city. However, they walked by the ice cream shop quickly. Some never even dared to pass the parlor, knowing well enough the girl in purple was in there. Inside, the cashier was ducked behind the counter with his hands over his head.

After moments of silence passed, he looked over to see Skyla handing Tai an ice cream cone while holding one more. Another teen with white hair watched in amusement as everything played out. Although, he had to admit that he was curious as to why people acted this way.

Skyla turned to the cashier and grinned.

She looked at the ice cream piled on to the cone and frowned slightly before pouting.

"I think I want one more scoop…" She said.

Outside, the people figured nothing would happen and continued their relaxing stroll past the parlor, taking their time.

***BOOM!***

Just as one couple passed, the entire parlor blew up and chairs scattered outside the window.

The couple ducked and ran away screaming, followed by the numerous others near the building.

Inside, Tai, Dante, and the cashier were all ducked behind the counter. There in the center of all the rubble and scattered furniture, was Skyla holding a slightly cracked cone with three scoops of melted Oreo ice cream.

She looked around at the broken down ice cream machines, oozing out flavors of ice cream, and the turned over tables and chairs.

"Hmm... what happened here?" She asked.

Dante looked up from the counter and licked his ice cream carefully.

"Not sure what happened." He said.

Tai looked at the teen in fear. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes for a second there." He mumbled.

Skyla laughed. As she did, the ice cream she was holding slid off the slippery cone and plopped down to the ground.

She looked at the melted ice cream pile with a blank expression before turning towards the ice cream guy.

"My ice cream fell…" she pouted.

She walked slowly towards the counter and grabbed the ice cream scooper with a smile.

"Looks like I need to make another cone!" She exclaimed.

"NO!" Everybody shouted in unison.

* * *

**Skyla's POV**

I looked at the long row of teenagers before me. They all looked at me with the same disapproving look.

"Skyla you destroyed three ice cream shops in two days!" Weiss exclaimed.

I grinned with fake innocence.

"Uh..it's actually seven…" I added.

They looked at me in shock.

"Well it's not my fault you didn't check in more often!" I argued, even though my side of the story was most likely already in the swirling mode in the toilet.

"Looks like we're going to have to check in daily, huh?" Allix said quietly from beside Jaune and Rex.

"How do you manage to make three shops explode?! Never mind that number, but fourteen!?" Weiss asked exasperated, making it clear that what I did was nearly impossible.

"Well um…." I said sheepishly. "I don't know?"

"How do you not know how you blow something up?" Yang asked. "Even Jaune can't do that!"

"Hey!" Jaune shouted.

"Well it's true!" Yang argued.

"It kinda is…" Ruby added, quietly.

"Well you see… I always like to serve myself ice cream because I make better and bigger scoops! They don't make it as round as I like. So when my ice cream slipped, I had to get another. But I paid for it! And everything kinda went… boom." I finished.

ANNNNNDDD CUE THE EPIC EXPLOSIONS!

Hahaha I'm just kidding. Nothing really exploded that day…except for that poor ice cream shop. But to summarize the rest of this conversation, I was banned from ever getting ice cream again… well, not on my own. I can go as long as somebody "responsible" comes with me and gets the ice cream for me. And for the ice cream shop, Allix paid them money. _My money_. Since I did technically do the damage.

And I think I traumatized the poor worker so I paid extra. Maybe he'll use it for his therapy.

That, I believe, wraps up my day.

Oh and one more thing.

As a joke, we all snuck into the library after dark. Except for Xera, he hasn't come back yet. Jaune was reluctant but we made him go. And _SOMEBODY_ *cough cough* Yang, turned off the lights encasing us in pitch black darkness.

Along with a little girl screaming-

…

I'm pretty sure it was Jaune.

…

"Who turned off the lights?!" Rex bellowed.

"Yang! Did you do that?" Ruby asked.

"What no! Have some faith in me baby sis!" Yang said, her voice seeming further away from the group than the others.

"Where's the light switch?" I asked, crashing into a book case. "Ow…"

"Are you okay?" I heard Pyrrha ask.

"I crashed into a bookcase…" I said rubbing the front of my head gently.

"Guys… can you turn back on the lights?" Jaune asked.

I quickly shuffled over to who I assumed were the others and quietly shushed them.

"Guys?" Jaune called out.

"Come on guys. Answer." He called out again into the silent darkness.

…

…

…

"Guys? This isn't funny answer!"

…

"Guys?"

…

"Guyss…"

…

He took an exhausted but kind of shaky breath, "Ruby? Yang? Weiss? Blake? Skyla? Rex? Allix? Pyrrah? Ren? Nora? You there?"

"Guys seriously this isn't funny! Ansswweerrr!"

Suddenly, we all heard a crash and a boom and then Jaune's voice.

"Oh no…Guys? I think I might have pushed down a bookcase…"

I pushed my hand against my mouth to muffle the sound of my giggles.

A low quiet thud sounded beside me and all I could make out was a mane of blonde hair collapsed on the ground shaking hysterically with barely contained giggling.

"I think I did that too like five minutes ago." I whispered quietly to Allix.

Suddenly, Jaune screamed once more. Although this time with the words, "OH DEAR GOODNESS SOMETHING'S BITING MY BUTT! YEP, SOMETHING IS DEFINATLY BITING MY BUTT! HELLLPPP!"

I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud until my stomach was cramping. My eyes watered as whatever was biting Jaune's butt, released him.

I continued laughing with most of the others until we doubled over in both pain and laughter.

"I-I c-cant!" I said in-between laughing fits. I waved my hand around struggling to breath.

My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

I assumed a book lurched out for revenge about its fallen home and latched onto Jaune's butt cheek.

"Jaune..we're here!" I called out.

"AHHH my butt my butt!" Yang mimicked him in a high pitched voice.

"Jaune, I don't think books like you that much." Ruby said, clearly amused by the situation.

"I hate you all so much…" Jaune mumbled under his breath.

* * *

**Finally concluded the unexpected adventure to a lonely mountain. If anyone is wondering, Mount Kenna in English is another name for fire. More accurately, "Born of Fire." I thought that was pretty fitting for a location for Xera's mother's grave, Leona Stark. And guess what? The tournament will be starting up again within the next few chapters. Yeah! Action and fighting and epicness… or I hope that's how it comes across as. It's actually just a depiction of my imagination but I hope you at least enjoy it. Anyway, hope you guys are having a good life…**_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	41. Brothers Reunited

**Alright, so something completely awesome happened recently. Andy2396 put together manga character profile pictures of team XSRA! Yeah! I can't thank him enough for putting in the time to do that so all I can do is throw another thank you at him for when he reads this. Anyway, I've gone in and made my own modifications (background and weapons) so if you're at all interested please check them out. They should be easily found on my DeviantArt page, yeah never knew I'd ever make an account for that. Account Name: XeraStark. So, yeah enjoy the chapter! Cya at the bottom!**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 41: Brothers Reunited

**Xera POV**

I made my way through the air and glided through the sky. The wind caught my wings as they spanned outward and soared atop the current and a few feet above the tree line.

The tops of the trees blurred by below me as I flew forward, the leaves were almost close enough to touch now.

I almost made it half way just from gliding from the top of Mount Kenna.

Deciding to hold out a little longer, I let myself glide further and soon enough I broke through the leaf canopy.

Just a little longer.

I leaned sharply to my right just as a trunk came into view and disappeared behind me in a haze. Another one lined itself up with me and I leaned away from that too, still surging forward at a high speed.

My wings carried me as far as they could, helping me weave in and around the trees of the forest as I made it farther and farther.

Come on…

Focusing my senses I made one final sudden dodge before grazing the ground and tumbling forward. My foot caught a root and I shot directly into the ground at my front, the force skidded and bounced me before the speed of my decent kicked in and I was thrown another 10 feet.

***Smack***

My back met the trunk of a large tree.

…

The wings on my back flexed and a pain ran through me. Whining slightly, I wrapped my silk black wings around my body again and gently pulled my sweatshirt over my head and fitted it onto myself. Groaning, I slumped down against the bark and hit the ground to catch my breath.

"Almost 2 miles…" I mumbled. "Not bad."

Groaning a little more and letting my aura sooth the ache, I leaned forward and picked myself up.

"That hurt more than I thought it would." I sighed as I double checked that my weapons were on my back, only to meet the empty fabric of my sweatshirt and the magnetic base of my holster just under my hood.

Shooting my wide eyes around, I scanned my immediate area, not seeing Annivia's Talons anywhere.

No, there's no way I'm losing these things.

If I can't find them, then I'll just have to see if that aura alloy works the way Pyrrha and Ruby say it does.

Back tracking my way through the bushes and foliage I burst through on my way down pain central, I searched around the indented path but came up with nothing.

Finding twin blades in the middle of a forest can't be that hard right?

…

Dang.

I walked up to where I first face planted into the ground, my blades still nowhere to be seen.

Alright, I swear if this doesn't work I'm going to spend the rest of today looking for my blades.

Sighing, I rolled up my sleeves slightly and revealed one of the modifications I've been working on with a little help. The gold and titanium alloy bracelets on my wrists were small and thin enough not to be bulky or heavy, but still big enough to hopefully do the job they were designed to do in case something like this ever came up.

I activated both of the bracelets with a little bit of my aura. The switch wasn't actually a physical switch, it was a heat sensitive trigger system.

The detailed bands of metal began to glow faintly and I felt a small tug on each one. It was very slight but noticeable.

My eyes looked around my surrounding as a new sound filled the air. It was the sound of metal ripping through leaves and boring through hard wood. It was the sweet noise of my Annivia's Talons tearing through the air and heading in my direction.

The first blade slammed through a tree to my left and I spun on my heal to catch it by the handle, the force of the impact sent me into a sideways flip before I turned myself in the air and landed on my feet.

"Whoa, a little too much aura." I spoke just as I heard the sound of trees being severed and bark being torn to bits.

I glanced down and noticed the band on my right wrist was glowing much brighter than I wanted it to.

"Well this is going to suck-" I dove to the side, just barely evading the sharpened edge of my sword as it made a wide circle and began charging me again.

I grunted and ran forward.

No way am I going to let my own blade cut me down in the middle of a forest.

Flowing more aura into the bracelet, I accelerated the spinning blade and gave it a significant boost of speed. I leapt into the air and flipped upside down with my hand stretched toward the ground. The sword cleared the distance in an instant and slammed into my open palm.

The force of the impact flipped me around a few times but eventually had me slamming my feet into the ground and skidding to a stop.

"Okay, that hurt but it was cool." I spoke to myself as I deactivated my return system and holstered my weapons to my back with a satisfying click to lock them in place.

With an extra pat to make sure they were secure, I looked around and found the direction I needed to go.

Just another mile or two.

I began walking again to let my wings have a rest and heal up. I knew exactly where I was going, I just… didn't exactly know why I was doing it.

It's usually not a place I like to visit.

But…

It's been 5 years since I was there. I guess it's been long enough hasn't it?

I've visited mom's grave every year since she died, so what makes this destination so hard to get to?

It's not physically harder, it's not even up on a mountain. It's in the middle of a forest…

And yet…

The path to get there is harder and heavier than anywhere I've ever gone before.

My surroundings began to become increasingly more quiet, eventually a disturbing silence settled across the forest as I grew closer and closer to where I needed to be.

The footsteps I took echoed through the soundless area and bounced off of the surrounding trees. I heard every breath I took and every shuffle of fabric my clothing made.

…

It was dead silent.

The wind ceased blowing now, and I haven't seen a single grimm anywhere since I landed.

Come to think of it, I haven't heard or seen any form of creature at all. Not even an animal or a bird.

The forest began to become more dense with trees and leaves. The roots became more abundant and harder to walk through. It was perfect to fend off any travelers or hikers. The path looked to be too dangerous and much harder to trek through, making people make the easier decision to go around or turn back before they got lost.

It's a good thing I knew my way through these trees.

I remember the path back perfectly, I don't think anything can ever make me forget my way through these trees.

I grew up here after all…

Continuing for a while longer, the time and effort making it feel like it's been an hour in this dense forest. I walked and stepped over more roots, making my way deeper into this maze of trees and wood.

After another few feet, a darkened structure emerged just through the tree line ahead.

My eyes couldn't leave that unforgettable cabin.

…or what was left of it.

I walked out of the trees and into a small clearing. The sky above was blocked by the tree canopy that spanned over the entire home and was the perfect place to hide from prying eyes.

That was what we hoped for.

Stepping forward and out of the deafening silence of the thick trees, I finally heard the birds again and felt the incredible feeling of the breeze against my face.

It's crazy, just walking around without the slightest of wind movement is torture. That alone would be enough for someone to go insane.

I gazed at what used to be the cabin I grew up in.

My old home.

Walking in the broken and blackened door frame, I stepped onto the creaking wood of the house. Almost all of the walls were gone, only pieces and some frame work was left behind from the explosion.

My hand grazed lightly against the dark wood, remembering in detail what this place looked like from my childhood.

Memories rushed through my head as my gaze lingered from area to area, my eyes stopped on what was supposed to be mine and my brother's room. It was in ruins but I could picture the walls standing where they once stood, the bunk bed that sat snugly in the corner by the window, even where the dresser would be.

I let my hand glide across a single standing frame of wood. It was mostly still intact but slightly burnt and warped. My fingers passed over the indents of a couple lines that were carved into the wood. Each horizontal line was a couple inches apart and varied slightly, but there were a bunch of them.

Beside each line was a letter, each letter alternated between lines starting with an X and switching to a Z every other line on the way up. And with every letter, a number followed.

The last two lines were shorter than where I stood, but it was clear that they were about a foot lower than the top of my head.

'_X – 12 years' and 'Z – 14 years'_

"I was always taller that you wasn't I?"

I turned my head in shock and instantly located the voice. Standing just outside the entrance to the ruined cabin was Zerath, my only family left. His gaze was fixed at his feet as he stood there, the handle to his weapon could be seen over his right shoulder but he seemed distracted.

Wait, he said 'I'. Does that mean…

"Well, you _were_ older than me by two years." I sighed and dropped my hand from the frame. "Hey, Zerath," I started, keeping my other hand at the ready in case I needed to draw Annivia's Talons.

He sighed and looked up at me, ice blue eyes met mine and he gave me a warm smile.

"Relax broskey, I compromised with Soul Slasher and he's letting me have full control all day today. He's not as dis-honorable as you might think." Zerath explained, his eyes never leaving my own.

I let myself relax slightly but I was still on edge. "Today is kind of personal isn't it? At least it's good to know he's willing to let you do what you need on the anniversary of mom's death."

"Yeah." He replied distractedly, "He doesn't care what I do today, just as long as I let him fight in the tournament and not intervene."

I guess that's what he meant by a compromise huh.

"He wants to fight you, Xera." Zerath added. "And there's nothing I'll be able to do to stop him." He muttered the last few words and dropped his gaze.

I smirked confidently and took a step away from the wall, "Well, I'm going to give him the fight of his life. There's no way I'll go down easy, and I don't expect him to go down with ease either."

Zerath's eyes shot back up and after a second he smiled and shook his head with a slight chuckle, "I expected nothing less from my little brother."

Deciding that he was telling the truth, I relaxed completely and looked around. I wasn't expecting my brother to show up at all, but now that I think about it. He was there too, he remembers today and probably wanted to come here at some point.

Zerath walked by me and kept his gaze low as he looked around to take in as much he could. There wasn't a lot left of what we called home, but the rubble and ruins were still exactly that, this was our home.

"We never had a chance to bury her." He muttered. "I never even had the chance to come back and build her a grave."

There was pain in his voice, but above that, it was filled with regret. Regret for not being able to come back at all, not until now.

"I built her one." I spoke quietly.

His movements ceased and his shoulders slumped a little bit, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. I wasn't there for a lot of things you must have had to get through while I was gone."

I walked up alongside him and nudged his shoulder, "Not your fault."

He looked over at me unbelievingly, "Not my fault? I'm the one who-"

"Nah, it wasn't your fault. It never was." I interrupted.

Zerath let out a strained sigh and let his gaze drop again, "Xera, I'm the one who lead them to the cabin. It was my fault that they found us. If I was just left to die on the streets mom would never have-"

I nudged his shoulder again and pushed him to the side slightly, stopping him from talking again. "They would have found us some time or another. You just so happened to have a distinct aura signature they could track." I commented, watching as he winced slightly from what I said.

"But, I wouldn't have done anything any different. You're my brother, nothing's going to change that. Mom made the choice to bring you into the family." I placed a hand on his shoulder, "And no one ever regretted that decision. Not even now."

I smiled and gave his shoulder a firm pat before pulling my hand back.

He took a breath and flashed me a brief smile, "Thanks, Xera."

Zerath moved away slightly and put his hands in his pockets. I decided to mimic the action and put my hands in my own sweatshirt pockets as well.

"W-Where is it?" He asked and cleared his throat. "I want to see mom's grave."

I looked toward the mountain at our backs. Its stone face was visible through the cracks in the canopy. "I was just there, but I can take you to it."

Zerath turned toward me, his smile was still there and he looked relieved. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. And I'm glad I get to spend whatever time I have left today with my own brother."

I nodded my head, "Yeah, me too, Zerath. I'm glad to see you're back."

Even if it is just for a day.

We began walking and disappeared into the thick trees once again. He was my brother again, and I'll do anything to bring him back for good.

But how?

In no time at all, we made it through the dense trees and began making our way toward the mountain. I was leading the way with Zerath at my side.

Occasionally we'd speak, but it was awkward to even talk to each other after what's happened and how much time has passed.

So, we resulted in just being silent and knowing that the other was right there with us. That was more than enough for me.

After another couple feet, the silent atmosphere of the forest came crashing down as an earth shattering screech filled the air followed by the numerous howls of beowolves and ursi.

The sounds of claws scraping dirt and trees smashing into the ground echoed from all sides, we were completely surrounded by an army of grimm that were quickly boring their way toward us.

Or more specifically…

"Heh, yeah umm… there's one more thing. With him inside me, I kind of attract a lot of negative attention." Zerath explained as he gripped the handle to his claymore from over his shoulder and pulled it off his back with ease. The giant blade gleamed with fire dust except for the barrel running down the center of the sword.

"Well we weren't talking anyway. The least we can do is fight side by side like we use to." I stated, drawing my own weapons and readying myself.

We both looked over at each other in silent understanding, there was no way this wasn't going to be fun.

Out of the brush in front of us came a massive spider-like grimm. It was huge, bigger than a death stalker and had sharp bony legs. The body was almost entirely armored and its eight hungry red eyes stared at us from just barely contained blood lust.

"I didn't think there were any araknics in the area." My brother commented as he watched our first opponent with trained eyes.

"They usually don't live in this area. I guess he's here specifically for you." I replied earning a smirk from Zerath.

"Well we can't let his hard work go un-rewarded." He stated and we ran forward in perfect sync.

We charged just as a legion of beowolves and ursi alike surged out of the bushes and past the araknic. It seemed to let the smaller grimm engage first but there was no sign of leadership or authority. This was all a hunt, and it seemed to watch our every move as it stood behind the wave of grimm.

It's been far too long since we fought side by side. But even though time has run its course, we were still at a level where we could fight together seamlessly.

Zerath and I leaped into the air and cleaved our way through the first few creatures that dare throw themselves against us.

The creatures of grimm never stood a chance.

We are brothers forever, brothers for life. There is nothing more important or more powerful than a family bound together.

And that will never change.

* * *

**Skyla's POV**

Rex, Allix, Blake, and I all stayed up late after we got out of the library in anticipation of when Xera gets back from wherever he ran off to today.

It was almost 1 AM now.

"He's been gone for almost an entire day. What's taking him so long to get back?" Rex asked complaining.

The big guy was ready for his 'Beauty sleep', as he said earlier. It was past midnight and Rex needed his sleep.

"Well, if you'd be patient he'd arrive faster." Allix said from her spot on her bed.

"Well, if you'd shut up maybe he'll show up." Rex argued, scrunching his face up.

"You're the dumb one!" Allix shouted.

"No I am!" I shouted back jumping into the conversation with a smile.

The two teens looked at me before nodding in agreement. They both chorused, "Yeah." before settling back onto the bed.

"Skyla, they're right. It's boring just sitting here." Blake said, yawning from her spot on the chair.

"Well, we already watched like three movies..." I trailed off. I suddenly squealed.

"I HAVE AN IDEA!"

_-20 minutes later-_

"SINCE WHEN IS THIS A GOOD IDEA?!" Rex's scream came out in a shrill voice as he stood atop the cliff gripping his muscular arms in fear.

"Diving off a cliff and into icy shark infested waters isn't a good idea?" I asked.

Allix shivered, "No, Skyla. It's a terrible idea."

"We aren't really doing this right?" Blake asked, her voice quivering slightly as she backed away from the edge. But it was more likely from the cold winds that surfaced at the cliff's edge.

"Heck yeah we are! You guys said you wanted to do something."

"Yes, but we weren't expecting you to bring us here in the middle of the night." Allix added from behind Blake.

The two girls were now currently hiding and shivering by a bush far from the edge of the cliff. The cool night breeze picked up again sending icy chills through everyone.

Rex slowly walked towards the edge and peered over.

Beneath his foot, some of the rocks crumpled and fell into the dark almost black waves crashing along the shores.

Looked about a good 50 feet from where we stood to the ocean below us.

"I don't know Skyla..." Rex trailed off, getting lost in the depth of the dark sea.

Before he could continue his sentence, I let out a shouting cry and ran over to where he was.

I tackled him sending both of us flailing over the edge. Rex's screams were more loud and prominent than my laughter as he flapped arms and legs rapidly.

I laughed from my spot. My arms still wrapped securely around his torso as we free fell from the sky.

Above us, Allix screamed and Blake watched with shocked but worried eyes.

The air rushed past us in a fleeting escape. The wind's screams drowned out the girls from above. And to be honest, without the fear of this going wrong, the fall was amazing. My chest lightened up at the loss of gravity and the feeling of being in the air was breathtaking. You still feel that feeling of knowing you'll hit the ground soon and it just builds up more adrenaline.

After channeling our aura for the impact, we finally hit the icy waters.

The coldness took our breaths away immediately. I detached myself from Rex and swam away from his attempts of resurfacing. I watched as his body disappeared to the surface. Around me, all i could see was the darkness of the sea.

After a few moments, my lungs began to burn and the ice of the waters had already numbed my arms and legs. I swam up and broke through the waves of the water and searched for Rex.

Rex was already near the surface looking frantically around as he called my name.

After he spotted me he looked relieved.

"Thank goodness you're alright. I thought you had died!"

I laughed and swam over.

"Nah." I said.

His relief quickly turned to a murderous glare as he pushed me back into the water.

"THEN WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! PUSHING US OFF THE CLIFF LIKE A MANIAC! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!" He shouted.

"I AM A MANIAC!" I countered as I broke free and swam to the right of the cliff face where a cove resided in. I eventually made it and tiredly walked onto the shore.

My clothes clung to my body uncomfortably and made puddles beneath my feet as I stood there.

"Let's head up to Blake and Allix. They're probably thinking we're dead." Rex mumbled as he began his tread up the mountain.

"You know..." I began. "We could just call them rather than climbing up the mountain and back down."

Rex looked at me with yet another glare before plopping his way down.

"Call 'em." Was all he said as he began his way through the forest.

I giggled and pulled out my scroll and dialed Allix.

"Skyla! You dumb idiot what were you thinking?!" Allix shouted as soon as she picked up. Her face was only illuminated by the glow of her screen making her look ghastly pale.

"Sorry." I said.

"We're at the bottom of the mountain ready to head back if you're ready to come down." I added.

Allix nodded and turned to her side and said something to Blake, who was off screen.

She looked back at me. "We're on our way down. By the way, I don't know how but Xera is up here too. He walked up just as you two fell off the cliff." Allix added nonchalantly.

"What! He's back and found us already?!" I exclaimed, staring at the screen and Rex quickly ran his way over to me and looked over my shoulder.

"Yeah, he's right over there."

Allix turned the camera over to an exhausted looking zombified Xera Stark leaning against a nearby tree.

"Ummm, how did he find us and why does he look like a zombie?" Rex asked what I was thinking.

"I heard someone screaming while I was on my way through the area back to Beacon. Turns out it was just you guys. I don't even want to know why you're out here anyway." Xera groaned and ran a hand through his thick hair before pushing himself off of the tree. "I'll tell you why I've been gone after I take a shower and get some sleep… maybe." After the short reply he shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking away, obviously too tired to go into detail right now.

"From what I can tell, he's been fighting grimm all day at wherever he went and seems pretty tired, which explains his bloodied sweatshirt and droopy eyes." Allix explained.

I noticed Blake turn and follow Xera in the background. They were barely noticeable in the darkness but I swear I saw them holding hands. Or, at least I think I did. I'm pretty tired actually now that I think about it.

"Blake's going to see if she can find out where Xera went. I don't know how much she'll get out of him though, he looks ready to collapse. I'll see you at the bottom." She said before ending the call.

The screen shut off and I put away my scroll before turning to Rex.

"See! I told you that this was a good idea. Look how fast Xera showed up!" I exclaimed happily as I skipped away from a dumbfounded Rex Tyro.

* * *

**The Tournament in the coliseum will be officially underway in the next chapter. Also, I should make this clear that this is not the Vytal Festival. This is just something being held for Vale Citizens only as well as a couple visitors who happen to be in the area. Hopefully I'll get the first fight done and maybe more, I'll just write what the muses direct me to do. Essentially, whatever happens will happen. I don't plan nor will I ever start to, this entire story has been written on the spot ever since the beginning with small check points few and far between to reach. It doesn't matter how we get there, just that we get there. Anyway, keep a look out for more fighting… YES MORE FIGHTING I'M HYPED! I hope you are too. **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	42. Pride found in a Pink Tuxedo

**Ashton knows no shame.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 42: Pride found in a Pink Tuxedo

**3rd Person**

Morning.

The sun broke through the confines of the horizon and the shattered moon dipped below the mountains. Daylight broke and golden rays of pure sunlight cast their way into team XSRA's dorm room. It was finally time for the tournament again, and it all starts at noon.

Allix was the first one to wake and get out of bed. She stretched and let her body enjoy a few pops before she relaxed her shoulders and looked around.

"_Odd. Usually Xera is up at around the same time I am." _She thought as he gaze landed on her still fast asleep team leader.

**WHOOSH!**

"Whoa!" Allix yelped as she was blown back into the confines of her covers by some sort of torrent of air.

**Slam!**

Her head snapped to the bathroom door being ruthlessly slammed shut as a muffled voiced called out from the inside.

"I beat you to the bathroom~!" Skyla's voice sang in a playful tone with a slight echo off the bathroom walls.

All Allix did was pout and cross her arms.

"No fair."

A low grumble pulled her from her pouting as a lump stirred from the bed across from hers. The mound of blankets slowly rose and towered above the smushed pillows below.

From the cluster of rising blankets, two thick arms stretched out and a head of spikey silver hair poked out one of the folds near the top. A set of deep blue eyes cracked open and immediately shied away from the sunlight.

Rex was not a morning guy.

But he does sleep like a rock.

"Morning." Allix greeted in her usual reserved tone.

"G'morning." He responded as he looked over toward the bathroom, noticing the closed door and the slight sounds of an occupant behind the door completing a usual morning routine.

"When's check in?" Rex asked as he dropped his blankets down in a heap onto his bed and fluffed his pillows up.

"Check in's at 11, the tournament starts at 12. So we have about an hour and a half before we need to head out." The red-head informed as she reached over and pulled out a book to read from the bookshelf beneath her bed.

Rex's eyes scanned the cover as his partner cracked it open and began reading.

"Team BANE? Sounds like a team that went to Beacon." He commented as two deep silver eyes peaked over the book to acknowledge him.

"Actually they are. Team FATE is in here two, I just finished reading the chapter where they just got their team name. It's pretty good if you're interested." She stated as her eyes went back to her book and flicked across the page with efficiency and speed.

"Sounds boring. There should be more fighting and some sort of mysterious enemy clad in black and a mask." The big guy mumbled as he stood and moved over to his dresser.

He passed by Xera's bed, giving it a glance and noticing the last of the team was still in deep sleep.

"Xera hasn't woken up yet." His voice was both quiet yet carried itself nicely across the room for Allix to hear.

"Yeah, I guess he exhausted himself from whatever he did yesterday… which he will tell us what he did. I will make sure of it." She responded just as the bathroom door swung open releasing a torrent of steam and the silhouette of a young girl appeared in the mist.

"Skyla, you should be glad that we have access to so much hot water. If we didn't I'd have to set up some sort of trigger system that'll shut if off on you after extended use." Allix casually threatened from behind her book.

The figure in the steam stepped forward revealing Xera's partner in crime clad in her usual attire and a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Aww, don't be like that Allix! I don't use _that _much hot water." Skyla responded as she bounded over to the archer and plopped herself down next to her and began reading over her shoulder.

"HEY!" Allix recoiled as she leaned away and fell against her pillow.

"What? It looked interesting." The ribbon wielder pouted as she reached for the book.

The archer's immediate reaction was to yank it out of reach and push the younger girl away.

"No, I'm not done with it yet. I'm just getting to a good part." She argued as she held Skyla back and away from her precious bundle of humor and adventure. She would never admit it but there was also a good amount of romance in the book as well.

"Hmph, let me read after you then! I want to see what's stolen your interest." Skyla responded as she fell off the bed and rolled to her own. Her hands smacked themselves on top of a box beneath her bed as she pulled it out and popped the lid off.

Her purple eyes scanned the contents inside and she let out a gleeful squeal before shutting it again.

"Oh, I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they watch me use this baby in my next fight!" She exclaimed as she pushed it back under her bed.

"What? That thing you made Xera help you with?" Allix sighed as she turned to the next page, her mind still split between conversation and reading.

"Yeah! He helped me modify my weapon to better fit my semblance so I can't wait to finally use it to fight someone. He'd be so proud that it works since he hasn't seen it in action yet." The girl in purple continued as she hopped up onto her bed and lay down onto her stomach. She smiled and propped herself up on her elbows with her fingers interlaced and rested below her chin.

"I see Xera hasn't woken up yet. Despite all the fun yelling I've been doing! Isn't he a light sleeper or something?" She asked as she saw Xera still sleeping on his side.

"Let him be. He probably won't have to fight until later." Allix spoke as she tossed her book over to Skyla and made her way into the bathroom.

"You can read what you can while I'm in here. But once I get out you better give it back." She spoke coldly as she entered the still warm bathroom.

Rex finished gathering his clothes and saw the bathroom taken again. He shrugged his shoulders and laid his clothes in a pile on his bed and turned to look out the window.

Students were already walking around campus and the airships were already in route into Vale. It seems plenty of people want to get there early for decent seating.

Or they just have nothing better to do right now.

"I'm bored." The silver haired teen sighed just as a knock echoed from the dorm room door.

"I GOT IT!" Skyla screamed as she lobbed the book in her hands at Rex and made her way to the door. Rex was just barely able to catch the flying hard back book as he watched the door fly open.

Behind the door Blake recoiled slightly from the sudden appearance of Skyla and her eyes automatically began to look past the girl and into the room.

"Hiya Blakey! Here for Xera?" Skyla asked excitedly as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Actually, I'm here to give Allix back the book I borrowed." Blake's voice was even and her cat ears gave a small twitch beneath her black bow atop her head. However, that was only half the truth, she was here for Xera. The book was just an excuse.

"Oh? Okay then." Skyla let her in and eyed the book that was in the cat-faunus's hands.

"The White Mask? Sounds like some sort of assassin story." She commented as Blake walked into the dorm room cautiously. Her eyes were already looking in the direction of Xera's bed before scanning the rest of the room.

"Something like that." She responded as she made her way over to Allix's bed and placed the book down onto it.

Her cat ears twitched again as she heard the lock to the bathroom click just before the door opened.

Allix walked out and noticed the new person in the room.

"Ah, so that was your voice I heard Blake." She stated as she stepped out of the bathroom wearing her usual clothes and her headphones around her neck, they were already playing music for her to hear and others close to her to listen too.

"Yeah, I wanted to return this book. I read through it and it was really good, especially since it's in the enemy's perspective." Blake commented as she sat down on the bed and held up the book next to her.

The archer stepped to the side just as Rex strolled into the bathroom, closing it behind himself and the shower could be heard moments later.

"Glad you liked it. I have more too, Xera and I decided to combine our two book collections so there's plenty more." She spoke as she saw Skyla peak into her secret box again and giggle.

With an annoyed sigh, Allix tried peaking over the younger girl's shoulder only for Skyla to slam the box closed and whirl around with accusing eyes and an extended finger.

"HA! YOU DO CARE! YOU'RE CURIOUS ALLIX STOWE!" Skyla hollered, "ADMIT IT!"

Allix's hands shot up in defense as she backed away and shook her head. "Okay okay fine, maybe a little."

Skyla let a satisfied smirk grace her lips as she turned to Blake.

"Awww…someone misses her boyfriend." She cooed as she noticed Blake's eyes go wide for a split second, "One whole day away from him and you're already waiting for him to wake up."

"N-no, that's not it." She defended as she returned to her indifferent gaze, but the blush on her cheeks was enough for Skyla to smile proudly at her accusation. "I just want to make sure he's okay. He was pretty bloody when he returned last night, well technically it was early morning."

Allix smiled and shook her head at Skyla's usual behavior, "Blake, it's fine if you want to see Xera again. You can wait here till he wakes up. For now though, Skyla you want to head down and grab an early breakfast?"

Purple eyes lit up as their owner leaped into the air, "YES! They have waffles today, I can hear them calling my name!"

She was gone in the next 3 seconds.

Allix chuckled before noticing that the shower shut off. She walked over and knocked on the door.

"Hey Rex, we're heading down to the cafeteria for some food. Join us when you're ready! Oh, and don't mind Blake." She called out before hearing a muffled response.

With that said, she turned and gave a small wave to the cat-faunus before leaving the room quietly and closing the door behind herself.

"_Seriously, all this noise and he's still sleeping. How much aura did he use yesterday?" _Blake worried as she stared across the room at Xera.

She sighed and pulled out a random book from Allix's collection beneath her bed and started reading to pass the time. Eventually Rex emerged and was out the door in seconds, he gave Blake a courtesy hey and a nod before leaving.

Blake returned the gesture with a small smile before letting her gaze fall back onto the book in her hands.

"_The Chronicles of ZFRR." _Her mind registered the title as she began reading.

Blake was hooked within seconds.

Looks like she's going to have to borrow yet another book until she finishes it.

"_How does Allix and Xera have so many good books that I haven't read yet?"_

* * *

**Xera POV**

I groaned in my sleep.

Last night sucked. Who knew fighting so many grimm could make you so sore? My whole body hates me right now. Not to mention that my wings are aching too. I think they're still in pain from when I crash landed into that tree.

At least sleep is one thing that I can count on to take my mind off things.

I tried to roll over but something prevented the rest of me from following. My mind was still in deep sleep so I didn't notice nor care to find out what stopped me. All I knew was that my bed felt warmer than usual, an unfamiliar warmth that I haven't felt before…

And it wasn't coming from my fire affinity. This one felt different.

Yet, I was still asleep.

The weight in my bed shifted slightly as I felt the warmth by my side leave me only to be found again seconds later on my waist. It was soon followed by a little weight sitting itself on top of me.

"Wake up sleepy head."

I stirred slightly but still remained asleep.

The weight on top of me sighed before shifting slightly. The next thing I felt was a light breath against my lips. It lingered there for a few seconds before readjusting and seconds later a pair of soft lips kissed my forehead.

It was light, quick, and soft. But it was enough to stir me of my slumber.

I reached out and wrapped my arms around the waist of the person straddling my own waist and rolled over, hugging them to myself and relaxing again.

"EEP!"

I heard a cute squeal and some audible breathing before it relaxed in my arms, I recognize that voice.

Smiling against her I breathed out slightly and finally shrugged off the last of the drowsiness, "Morning Blake."

Blake shuffled a little bit, undoubtedly blushing. Usually, I'm not the one to initiate these kinds of things.

"M-morning, Xera. D-did you sleep well?" She asked and stuttered slightly.

Cute.

I held her tighter and recalled something, "Did you try to kiss me?"

Her body went tense in my arms in a clear indication that the answer was yes, but she immediately relaxed herself and slowed her rapid heartbeat.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She responded.

Lies.

Shrugging, I opened my eyes and looked up into glowing amber orbs.

"Hmm, that's a sunrise I can get used to waking up to." I absently commented earning a blush in return.

I smiled and released Blake so I can sit up. Looking around the room, I noticed it's vacancy. There was an open book about halfway through on Allix's bed and the clock read 10:45 AM.

Wait.

Isn't check in at 11?!

Panic quickly descended upon me as my eyes mapped out the fasted possible routine to pull off in order to get ready in time.

Alright, second drawer is sweatpants, socks are in third, hit the closet on my way into the bathroom for a sweatshirt, shower, brush, change, shoes are by the door. I nodded after the split second plan I through together then focused my mind on my forging friend.

Ruby Rose.

* * *

**3rd Person**

Xera's eyes quickly transitioned from pink to shining silver.

In the next half a second, he disappeared in a blur of green light that streaked across the room going from his bed to the dresser, then past the closet and lastly disappearing behind the bathroom door. The sound of the shower turning on soon followed just as the drawers slammed shut and the sweatshirts in the closet stopped swinging.

Blake watched in awe as Xera utilized her team leader's speed to finish his morning routine in seconds. The usual time would have been at least ten minutes.

But he was done in 3.

"Umm, Blake? The airships take a whole ten minutes to get to Vale right?" Xera asked.

Blake nodded before noticing the time and she shot up from the bed.

"You're going to miss check in." She stated in a worried but calm tone.

Xera sighed and looked apologetically at his girlfriend.

"Not if I can help it. Please don't get mad at me." Just as he finished saying that, Blake had a split second to put two and two together before she was suddenly picked up bridal style from her current position and the next thing she noticed was the world becoming a blur around her.

Seconds later, Xera skidded to a stop just as the last Beacon airship left its docking port and was already on its way into Vale.

He was already exhausting himself with excessive use of a semblance he's not used to. But now he just missed his only ride and his only option of getting into the tournament on time.

Well, there is one other option…

"Blake, don't take this the wrong way but pull off my sweatshirt."

The entirety of Beacon academy was vacant, or at least very close to being empty. And there shouldn't be anyone out in the streets so this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The cat-faunus in Xera's arms blushed heavily as she took a second to register what he said. She hesitated slightly but managed to pull Xera's sweatshirt over his head while he was still carrying her and running forward. It was a little awkward to shuffle the clothing out from under herself since she was still cradled in her arms but she accomplished the task with relative ease, given the circumstances. Once she had the clothing bundled up in her hands, she only had a few seconds to take in the sight in front of her before feeling weightless.

Two silk black wings extended from being wrapped around Xera's body. Their sleek feathers glistened in the sun as they stretched and expanded to full length. Each one reached a good 9 feet and they were extremely thin. But for some reason, the way they caught the wind and flexed made them look a lot stronger than they appear.

However, the last time she saw his wings was when they talked on that rooftop before the tournament started. It was just after they discussed that ridiculous plan Xera had. She was mad, but understood why he needed to do it. And so, Blake's eyes focused on something else entirely…

Her mind was racing, her cheeks were flushed and red, she could only stare.

Xera never wears shirts beneath his sweatshirt. They're always too uncomfortably for his wings so it just makes sense since he never take the article of green clothing off anyway.

And as a result…

Blake stared as Xera carried her bridal style and flew through the air with speed and careful glides…her hair was whipping around in the wind and she clutched Xera's sweatshirt to her chest for safe keeping as he flew with her in his arms…all while carrying her…and he was shirtless.

* * *

_**(**10:58 AM at the entrance to the coliseum**)**_

"He'll be here." Skyla spoke confidently as she sat atop the lobby desk and idly kicked her feet.

The receptionist behind Skyla sat in her chair with her fingers interlaced and resting on the desk in front of herself. "If you say so Miss Xerious. We aren't even that strict, if he's a little late we'll just move his match up back."

"Nope. Doesn't matter 'cause he'll be here in time." The young girl smiled in response and she leaned back on her hands and kept her eyes on the door.

10:59

"Ha! See, I told you!" She cheered as she saw Xera walk in with Blake at his side.

"Did we make it?" He asked, sounding out of breath.

The receptionist adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat, "Yes, Mister Stark, you are on time and checked in. You can wait in one of the cue rooms until you are notified by Professor Goodwitch." She stated with a smile, but she did seem relieved that the last of the competitors have finally arrived.

"Hi Xera! Busy morning huh?" Skyla asked casually as she hopped off the desk and onto her feet.

"Actually-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, anyway…" Skyla interrupted as she snagged both Xera's and Blake's hands before rushing off toward their cue room. "The others are this way!"

* * *

Ashton stood proudly up on the announcer's balcony. Well, as proudly as any man would be in a full on pink tuxedo.

"What's with the suit?" Glynda asked as she stood beside Ozpin behind the one in pink.

"What's wrong with it?" The eccentric man replied casually.

Ozpin hid his smirk behind his mug as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Just… nevermind." The woman sighed as she crossed her arms after activating the massive screen above them. The silk red curtains hung above their heads to shade them from the sun.

The screen flicked on and started playing an opening sequence paired with loud music and fireworks.

"WELCOME BACK!" Ashton exclaimed over the microphone.

The rumble of the stands echoed out as the citizens of Vale roared in response to his simple statement.

"The second bracket of the tournament starts TODAY! And we welcome back all contestants, win or lose. However, those of you who did win will appear on screen and be announced." He continued just as the long first bracket appeared on screen. Every contestant's picture was up and in a line at the bottom, however the competitors who lost their first match became grayed out and the winners flashed before being moved up into the second bracket line up.

"NOW WHO'S READY TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED!?" Ashton exclaimed proudly in his pink suit. The crowded stands filled the coliseum with a rumbling storm of screams, cheers, whistles, and chanting. All of which brought a huge smile to the announcer's face.

"I guess there's something about having a crowd in the palm of your hands that excites him." Glynda commented as she stepped forward with Ozpin, they appeared in the sunlight at both sides of Ashton as he extended his hands.

"Please welcome to the stage, Headmaster Ozpin and the beautiful Glynda Goodwitch from Beacon Academy!" Ashton yelled out as Ozpin and Glynda gave a small wave.

If it were at all possible, the crowd got even louder.

Ashton handed the mic off to Ozpin who took it and cleared his throat, "I'd like to welcome you all to the tournament once again. This is simply a way to see what potential Vale has to offer and is also very entertaining. Please, enjoy the rest of the day and what the competitors have to offer." He announced before handing the microphone back to Ashton.

Ozpin and Glynda did another simple wave before dipping back into the shade and sitting down.

"OKAY! LET'S DO THIS THING!" Ashton yelled again, riling up the crowd even more. "HERE WE GO! Make some noise for the first competitors! We have the laid back warrior with an unexplained way with the ladies. He is the lamp wielding gummy bear fanatic, JAX FROST! And his opponent, the slim and speedy gunman, he has an unbelievable arsenal of insane weaponry waiting to be released upon his enemies, TAI BLACKTHORNE!"

* * *

**And there we go! I guess I'll just have to leave it there. I hope you're excited 'cause the tournament is officially back in action and I can't wait to see what you think of what I have to offer. So, have fun! I hope you like intense fighting because that's exactly what you'll get! **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

…

'**The Chronicles of ZFRR' is the best OC oriented fanfic for RWBY I have ever had the pleasure of finding. I honestly really like this one. However, it's an acquired taste mainly because it's entirely OC. No main characters at all…or even Beacon. Its plot is centered in the Storm Academy of Mistral with a fun loving hilarious duo of trouble makers and their team. There's even an RvB team in the fic along with a lone wolf clad in black that beats that entire team into the ground, aside from the one in blue of course. Seriously though, check this one out if you're interested in an incredible OC story by ****Xjentryn****. Friend of Black Fuego, and Xjentryn will be writing in an arc to Forjador City soon from ****'The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR'****.**

'**The White Mask' by ****The Baz**** is a really good fic if you've never heard of it. It's awesome and is entirely from the view of the bad guys. And the main character is just hilariously fun to read about and how he deals with the problems that come up. Did I mention he is crazy but extremely badass?**

**Lastly, I want to finally mention one of the reasons why I even started writing. The author ****Dante The Kitsune**** who wrote 'Team BANE' is the reason why I made an OC. And you know what, that was the very first version of Xera Stark. Then that led to me asking my little sister, Sky, about an idea I had to put together a full team. Now look where we are! Chapter 42 and well over 100,000 words plus 6,000 views! Definitely something I wasn't expecting. So, I thank her for that. See you guys in the next chapter.**

**If you've made it this far, I applaud you for reading such a long A/N. Props to you.**


	43. Overwhelming Power of a Foosball Table

**Who here has played foosball?**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 43: The Overwhelming Power of a Supersized Foosball Table

**3rd Person**

As Ashton announced the competitors, Glynda prepared the new modifications they had installed during the day of break. "I do hope no more incidents with mass destruction occur. Coco really did a number on the stands in the first bracket." She commented as she typed away on her scroll in the shadow of their balcony.

"You can't plan for everything, you just have to account for all possibilities and hope nothing too surprising occurs." Ozpin stated stoically, his coffee cup still steaming and placed on the table between their two seats.

Ashton, in his pink attire, pointed dramatically toward the entrances just as two silhouettes appeared in the dark tunnels.

Tai made his way out of his own tunnel, the breeze a bit stronger today and kicking back his sleeveless trench coat. Two gleaming objects were revealed at a glance, one a dark ebony metal and the other bright pure silver. His long hair was tied in a ponytail for this match and he paid no mind to the cheers of the crowd.

Jax on the other hand…

He stopped at the edge of the tunnel, his glowing lime green eyes panned over the ecstatic fans and watched as they all cheered and screamed for both his name and Tai's. His smirk was completely hidden behind his black facemask, but none the less it was still present.

"This one's for you kid."

With that said, he made his slow walk forward out of the shadows with his flaming lamp post lazily leaned over his shoulder. Needless to say, the crowd cheered even louder.

Tai and Jax walked forward and took their positions across from each other at the center of the sandy arena.

"Why did you choose sand again?" Glynda pondered as she looked up at the man in pink.

"I have my reasons. After all, this coliseum has a lot more tricks still hidden." Ashton smirked mysteriously and proud, only earning a shake of the head from the woman behind him.

"NOW, THERE IS ONE THING MISSING!" Ashton called out, gaining the attention of the competitors and stands once again. "Taking the previous bracket into account, we have decided to incorporate… a small detail into the design of the coliseum."

As Ashton spoke, Glynda typed in a command straight into her scroll and glass walls rose dramatically slow from the surrounding walls of the central arena, separating the bystanders from the much more dangers fighters in the middle, the arena tunnels remained open and unblocked. The crystal clear glass wall raised a good 12 feet above the ancient looking stone walls, protecting the visitors from any stray bullets leaving the perimeter of the arena… or entering it from the stands.

"Ah, alright so now that that's been settled…" Ashton cleared his throat and made a wide gesture with his free hand. "LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!"

Tai took his stance and waited, deciding to draw his weapons after the start was called rather than before. Jax kept his gaze locked on Tai's waist, waiting for the wind to pick up again and reveal his opponents weapons in their holsters.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! FIGHT!" Ashton bellowed, starting the match.

Jax jumped straight up and activated the burst of fire in the base of his handle. With his grip tightened, he surged forward in gummy bear glory and planted both feet into Tai's chest.

Tai made sure to jump into the air slightly to reduce the damage, allowing him to fly backward from the unexpected attack and flip through the air. His nimble body spun itself around and he planted his feet into the sand skidding to a stop.

The taller male dove to the side and drew his silver weapon mid-roll. He took the silver pistol into his hand and tightened his grip, the weight of .357 magnum rounds felt oddly satisfying as the hammer cocked back and slammed forward, hurling a gleaming bullet out of its elongated barrel and across the arena.

Jax had enough time to raise his lamp post up, allowing it to take the hit. The resounding clang was loud but bearable.

"I call this one Saint, wait until you meet its counterpart!" Tai smirked as he fired off two more rounds, forcing Jax to run in a wide circle.

With another grunt, Jax dug his boots into the sand and changed direction straight for Tai. Tai in turn, fired off four more rounds, each one being batted away by Jax as he closed the distance in seconds.

With no time to reload, Tai drew a black, gold engraved combat knife and blocked Jax's swing. Jax bounced his weapon back and made a swift jab into Tai's gut, forcing the taller guy back a bit.

Tai groaned in pain but was able to slash across Jax's chest, making a good dent into his aura before being forced away to dodge numerous more jabs.

"That thing moves just like a mace, so how can he redirect it so easily?" Tai muttered to himself as he parried a forceful swing into the ground. With the new window open, Tai stepped up onto Jax's chest and kicked off upward, swinging his other foot up and slamming it into his chin. The collision sent Jax collapsing backward and Tai into a backflip.

Jax wasted no time in arcing back and planting his palm into the sand to throw himself back onto his feet. The sand beneath his boots sunk and shifted back as he sprinted forward just as Tai hit the ground.

Blade and pole clashed again sending sparks and a powerful clang out from the collision.

"Trying to keep me from reloading?" Tai grunted as he pushed back the attack, only to block another.

Jax smirked behind his mask, but he couldn't keep his eyes from taking quick glances at the other weapon that was still holstered. The dark ebony steel, just what was it? And why did Jax get an off feeling about it?

Tai smirked and made a kick for Jax's chest, only for it to be batted away. However, the kick was a distraction.

Tai hit the clip release and activated his secondary semblance, letting the empty clip fall into a ripple in the air. Immediately after, he dropped the now clipless pistol into the same ripple and as it fell, he quickly drew a spare clip from his belt just as it disappeared into the portal.

Jax's eyes widened and he honestly felt impressed as he was still recovering and watching what his opponent was able to do. Tai just kept his smile and opened up another ripple in the air just above his raising hand with the clip in it. He released the clip as the unloaded silver pistol fell from the above portal, effectively allowing the clip to glide cleanly into Saint's handle and click into place just as he gripped the trigger.

All of this happened in mere seconds.

With a satisfied smile plastered across Tai's face in realization that his trick worked flawlessly, he crouched and did a sweeping kick at Jax's legs. Jax jumped to avoid the kick but that only played into what Tai wanted, continuing his kick Tai spun around and slammed his blade into Jax's chest.

The collision was completed with a surge of lightning and Jax's form flying backward.

His aura took a drastic spike, its levels were thrown into the mid-yellow range and he skidded to a stop a few meters away from Tai now.

With the new distance created, Tai quickly holstered his knife and finally drew his second weapon. As he whipped the gleaming ebony masterpiece out of its holster, Tai kicked back his trench coat and took a low stance, pointed both barrels straight at Jax.

Jax's eyes widened at the size of the barrel for the black pistol, it was huge! And that could only mean one thing.

…

It's going to hurt…

…A LOT!

Jax slammed his lamppost into the ground and surged upward into the sky with a trail of fire and gummy bears. He spun around using the continuing thrust of the fire and dove for Tai.

Tai readjusted his aim and pulled the trigger of both pistols. Saint's elongated barrel bounced up from the recoil, but not as drastically as the twin ebony pistol. Its larger barrel shot straight up, its recoil forced Tai's arm up with it as a .50 caliber bullet surged out of the chamber.

Jax had his weapon out in front of him and let it take the hit again, only this time the force of the duel bullet's impacts knocked him out of the air and straight into the ground.

"And this one's Sinner." Tai spoke just before aiming and pulling the triggers again.

The two barrels shot up again and the concussion from the shots echoed across the entire stadium. Tai was forced backward this time, his boots skidding through the sand.

The two bullets, the difference in size was immense but it wasn't like anyone could see them, flew across the arena at blinding speed only to drill and shatter into the wall of a fiery vortex.

Jax's body surged with fire, the heat swirled around him as he got to his feet. The glow of his lime green eyes was somehow brighter and was the only thing visible through the wall of flames. The rest of him was the silhouette of a dark figure.

Tai was stunned that something as simple as fire could stop a .50 caliber bullet, but that didn't stop him from firing the rest of the bullets in his twin pistols.

Each one hitting its mark, but only to shatter against the spiraling fire.

From the fire and the flames, Jax's lamppost broke through the wall and surged forward like a missile… only this time it was on its own.

Tai didn't have time to dodge or block, he only cringed in painful regret as the metal object slammed into his gut and sent him reeling backward.

In the next moment, the vortex shifted slightly and out came a flaming Jax. He moved swiftly across the sand and closed the distance between the two in an instant. His gleaming eyes stared down at Tai and one thing was made silently clear between them, he was fighting seriously now.

Jax took hold of his weapon still crushing forward into Tai's gut as they both now flew backward. He switched off the acceleration and spun it in his hand and held it like a baseball bat. With the overwhelming power of a supersized foosball table, he swung forward with extreme force and smashed it into Tai's body.

The crunch of the hit was not only audible, but the shockwave that came after was even more so. An invisible force spanned out from the impact zone like a sonic boom, the sand around them was blown back like an explosion and the flames turning some of the sand around them to glass. Jax's strike was powerful enough to break some sort of sound barrier, and Tai felt every moment of it.

The unlucky guy was sent with added speed straight into the wall of the arena, his body crushed the stone behind him as he let out a pained gasp of air. The web of cracks held him in the wall as his opponent tumbled to the ground and rolled to his feet.

The match was over.

"HOLY MOTHER OF ALL THINGS UNGODLY CRINGE WORTHY! Jax Frost has claimed the victory against Tai Blackthorne in an epic exchange of power and pain!" Ashton exclaimed.

* * *

"Wow, someone actually made Jax get serious." Skyla muttered in disbelief.

"Yeah, usually he doesn't need to." Xera commented from where he stood in the cue room.

Skyla whirled around, locked onto her target, and smacked his arm. "You're one to talk!"

Xera silently stared at the area Skyla so ruthlessly smacked, "Ow." He murmured and clamped where the pain originated from.

"What do you mean, he's one to talk?" Blake asked from her spot beside Xera, she appointed herself designated poker of injury.

As Xera leaned away from the cat-faunus and her attempts of getting a hold on his arm, Skyla gave an exasperated sigh and turned to look out of the large window and into the arena. Her gaze watched as Jax approached Tai, still embedded into the wall and picked up Saint and Sinner.

"It's just that, Xera was the only one to ever make Jax get serious."

As Blake took in Skyla's words, in the corner of the room sat a long figure watching the exchange of pleasantries before opening the white book from her lap. She closed her eyes and thought back to everything she had seen the phoenix do these past couple of days and how by the end of this tournament she would make sure he never had to face the pain she once had to endure.

Her wolf ears twitched slightly to the voice of her sister. A sister no one but she could hear until they were to knock on death's door.

* * *

Jax holstered his lamppost and extended a helping hand to a dazed Tai, he held the two pistols in his other hand. The teen embedded in the wall looked at the three or four hands in front of him and tried to reach for one. He missed the first few but Jax adjusted and grabbed hold, pulling Tai free from the wall's grip and back onto the sandy stadium.

"It'll pass, just gotta wait it out." Jax finally spoke, handing Tai his weapons back.

Tai shook his head and carefully holstered his guns, but he still felt dizzy and in intense pain, "Huh, so you do talk."

Jax nodded and let Tai slump an arm over his shoulder for support. They walked off toward the tunnel and in the direction of the infirmary, but Jax made sure to offer Tai some gummy bears along the way. And of course, Tai gladly snacked on a few.

"Alright!" Ashton started as he watched the two slowly disappear into the shadow of one of the entrance tunnels. "So, I do believe we are in need of a change of scenery!"

With those words, the crowds hushed up in suspense and curiosity, they all looked up at the announcer's balcony. The competitors especially gazed up and wondered what he meant by that statement.

Ashton in turn, just smirked and turned to his side, gesturing for Glynda to initiate the simulation sequence.

With the command typed and the button pressed, the entire coliseum rumbled as the highest outer walls began to move. They opened up at the surface and revealed an inner, glass like wall that began to extend out of the stone walls and cave inward. The glass spanned over the entire coliseum and converged on the center, there were large hexagon shapes that made up the new dome that covered the arena.

"Ah, now then. Glynda, if you please…" Ashton continued.

"Which one would you like?" Glynda replied, annoyed slightly but enjoying the stunning reveal.

"Which ever one strikes your fancy." Was his reply, one which he immediately regretted after dodging an unexpected mug of coffee.

Ozpin stared at his now empty hand and turned to see Glynda huff and put away her riding crop before brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Uh… too much?" Ashton asked sheepishly, getting an amused nod from Ozpin.

Within the next second, a young woman opened up the back door and set down a new mug beside Ozpin on the small table. She smiled warmly and poured some coffee into Ozpin's new mug from a steaming coffee pot in her hand. Ozpin gave her his thanks and she nodded in response before turning and excusing herself from the room.

"You're staff here are as impressive as always Ashton." Ozpin commented as he took a sip of his newly brewed and hot coffee.

"Thank you Ozzy! Now, Glynda… just go with number 4." Ashton clapped his hands and turned to watch his money go to work.

Glynda selected the desired number and the entire arena, the stands, the columns, everything began to shake.

Down in the arena, the stone columns that once lined the perimeter of the sandy arena retracted into the ground and disappeared from view. The entrance tunnels closed up and the sand that was laid out across the ground began to vibrate and move toward the outer edge, every speck flooded into segments that opened up at the base of the surrounding arena walls.

The now receded sand revealed large hexagon panels making up the floor, each one was made out of some sort of silicon and metal based alloy. The lines of the panels began to glow and the glass panels above started to shift. Everyone watched in awe as synthetically created trees and foliage sprouted from the floor, the ground quickly became covered in dirt and then layered over with thick grass. The abundant trees spanned upward toward the roof, all the while growing multiple branches that spread out and created a thick forest canopy high above the arena. Bushes and leaves quickly burst to life as the synthetically created forest took in the light being produced from the glass dome above. Soon, that light died off and the panels returned to their normal positions above the stadium.

"I would like to formerly introduce you… to AERO COLISEUM! Of my own design of course." Ashton announced once the forest finished constructing itself.

The crowd exploded in shocked exclamations and applause, fueling Ashton's ever growing fondness of his job and everything he owned.

* * *

"Wow." Ruby spoke breathlessly and she leaned against the window, staring excitedly out into the thick forest and misting over her view with how close her face was pressed up against the viewing glass.

"Yeah, this is just… awesome! Who knows what this arena can turn into now!" Yang fist pumped the air from her spot beside her sister at the window.

Everyone was at the window actually, aside from Xera, Blake, and Destiny who stood back and looked through it from where they stood.

"That was…" Allix began.

"Synthetically fabricated biome simulation with the manipulation of dust and sequence oriented panels." Weiss finished, staring out at the trees in disbelief.

"Uhh, the what now?" Jaune asked, taking his eyes off the forest and turning toward the heiress.

"She means that the panels in the floor have programmed sequences to initiate different frequency vibrations, when that is paired with a certain kind of synthetically made dust it can basically expand to form whatever biome the programmer choses. The panels above also help to create the desired atmosphere of that biome." Destiny explained.

That explanation got across to most of the group, aside from a couple who still didn't understand the technology behind such an invention.

"That technology actually exists? Like, we can create a land of cotton candy and candy canes, out of nothing but dust?!" Nora exclaimed, clasping her hands together and bouncing in place.

"It won't taste like its real life counterpart. This technology is still in prototype stage." Ren commented.

"Still, that's impressive." Rex crossed his arms and walked away from the window taking his seat on a nearby couch.

The sound of a scroll notification sounded off, and Pyrrha stepped back from the window and checked her scroll.

"Looks like I'm up. Wish me luck." She smiled and waved to the rest of the crew before walking toward the door.

"Good luck Pyrrha, you'll do great." Jaune called out.

"Break a leg." Allix wished as well.

"BREAK THEIR LEGS!" Skyla and Nora both exclaimed then did a completely unplanned but in sync high five.

"I wish you luck." Xera was the last to say that before Pyrrha gave her thanks and disappeared out the door. Though he was one of the only ones worried about who she'd be fighting, after all. It wasn't someone from inside this room.

* * *

"Now! How about we announce the next competitors!" Ashton yelled out, his voice rattling the leaves slightly from the sound of the speakers. The entrance tunnels slowly reopened, revealing two figures behind the descending doors. "Please welcome to the jungle, the truly inspiring and undefeated PYRRHA NIKOS! And at the other end, her opponent, the one and only…!" He took a breath, pausing for dramatic effect.

…

"ZERATH STARK!"

* * *

**Ah, now I'm sorry to leave you with just one fight but I felt that this was a very nice way to ease you into the fighting chapters again. I hope you enjoyed this fight scene since there's still plenty more to come! Oh, and if you're wondering. Have you ever been playing foosball and got jabbed by one of the other player's poles? (Or whatever they're called). I haven't actually felt the pain but I have friends who some how did experience that, or simply just walk into one of them without looking. Well anyway, imagine that but super-sized and you're at the receiving end of the pole as someone stronger than you smashes their end with a sledge hammer. Now, multiply that by two as well as incorporate fire and now you feel the unfortunate pain Tai had to endure, he has aura though so that'll help soothe the pain. Of course, that little description of the attack to match Jax Frost's character made it to the title. Anyway, the next match up should be pretty interesting don't you think? So, **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	44. Mercy Rule

**Will Pyrrha be okay? That is a good question, how about I answer that for you.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 44: Mercy Rule

**3rd Person**

Pyrrha held Miló and Akoúo̱ in her hands as she approached her entrance. The trees beyond the arch way seemed to pulse with energy every now and them, causing the leaves to rustle and the bark to glow faintly.

"So these trees aren't fully trees yet. They're partly made of dust." She remarked as her gazed carefully looked up into the leaves above, noticing how thick the foliage was. "How are they going to observe the match?"

"AH, Good question Miss Nikos!" Ashton exclaimed, startling Pyrrha slightly.

A small metal robot-like sphere floated out from behind Pyrrha and to her front, a glowing green lens pointed at her face. Then the object panned backwards before the panels making up the floating ball separated slightly. The different sections of it hovered outward by about an inch and revealed a glimpse of a glowing green light on the inside. Each separated panel still remained in place as the light broke out of the cracks of the puzzle-like sphere and fluctuated to match Ashton's voice.

"This is one of many of my observation spheres. They will help broadcast the fight to the viewing screens throughout the arena and will relay the sounds back as well. Hopefully no one will destroy any of them." Ashton explained as the orb floated away slightly.

Pyrrha caught sight of a second orb a few trees away as it weaved in and out of the tall foliage.

Two smaller orbs floated out from behind a nearby tree and stayed at a distance in front of her, one was blue while the other was red. The blue orb displayed a holographic projection of Pyrrha's name below it while the red one displayed Zerath's. Above each orb was an aura display bar and percentage the use of it was, much like what the announcement screen displayed.

"These two orbs will stay in your field of vision at all times during the match to make sure you and your opponent know where the other stands in aura reserves. Oh, and don't worry about them not being able to keep up." Ashton further spoke.

Pyrrha, deciding to let her curiosity slide just this once, made the decision to test this and quickly looked left then right. The orbs quickly darted in the direction her head faced, each one didn't even miss a beat and stayed perfectly within her view. They even adjusted their relative position to keep themselves from disappearing behind the trees and out of view.

"As you can see, they work just fine." Echoed Ashton's voice again, "Now, how about we get this show on the road shall we?!"

Across the forest floor, Zerath's red eyes stared at the orb hovering annoyingly in front of him. He reached out with his blade and swiped down at it, only for the floating sphere to swiftly maneuver around his swing and lock itself back into its relative position.

"Interesting." He muttered before spinning around, seeing if he could smash the two aura orbs into the wall. To his disappointment, they simply readjusted to account for the wall and glided just in front of it, still maintaining their position in his point of view.

His frown of disappointment was very small, but it was there none the less.

The glowing green orb returned to where Zerath was standing, and another approached Pyrrha as well, each one displaying a green number five above themselves. "ALRIGHTY THEN FOLKS! Let's get this fight under way! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Fight!" The orb's numbers counted down in sync with Ashton and then they simultaneously sent out a burst of green light to signal the start of the match.

Pyrrha stepped forward, gracefully jogging straight through the trees in front of her. She held up her shield as she ran, keeping up her defense as a precaution. She knows well enough what her opponent is capable of, so there's no need to take any chances with this one.

Zerath, in contrast to his opponent, stepped forward with slow calculated steps. Making sure to keep his senses up and walk cautiously through the foliage in front of him.

He knew exactly where his opponent was.

"Four time Mistral Champion huh?" He asked himself.

"_Yeah, she should be pretty strong. Try not to hurt her to much okay? I don't want to see one of Xera's friends hurt again. You almost killed Anna remember?" _Zerath's voice echoed in his own head, responding to his rhetorical question.

Zerath's eyes only glowed a brighter red as a small sadistic smirk crossed his lips.

Pyrrha made her way out of the thick ring of outer trees and found that the more she reached the center, the less dense the forest became. Once she reached the middle of the arena, she came across a small clearing where the sun's rays burst through the opening in the canopy.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a shadow pass by between two of the surrounding trees. With a deep breath, she listened for where her opponent was and waited. After a few seconds, Pyrrha suddenly pivoted on her heal and slammed away a large .50 caliber round with her shield that pierced through one of the trees. The resounding crack of a gunshot in the air was followed by a loud clang and then a forceful vibrational concussive explosion.

The gravity round detonated against Pyrrha's shield and sent her tumbling backward, throwing her against a tree unexpectedly.

A second crack followed the first one and another bullet burst through another one of the trees. She barely had enough time to dive to the side just as the tree she was leaning against blew apart in a show of splinters and dust.

Pyrrha maintained her sprint forward and held up her shield, pushing through a few more of Zerath's bullets before leaping into the tree line. Her gaze caught site of Zerath's claymore just as it swung around from behind a tree, aiming for her neck. She slid under the swing and carved her blade through the base of the tree, completely cutting through it and slicing at Zerath's legs. However, he jumped over the unpredictable attack and pulled his sword back around to bring it down onto her.

Pyrrha's blade deflected the overhead strike into the ground and she followed her parry up with a bash of the shield into Zerath's gut. She used the opportunity to enter his guard and flipped her sword into the air. With her free hand she supported her shield and brought it around in an attempt to knock his sword out of his hands.

However, Zerath pulled his arm to the side and let Pyrrha's shield miss striking the pommel of his claymore. Pyrrha let go with one hand and grazed her fingers across the hilt of his weapon before diving forward into a roll and catching her own sword.

She gave a small smirk and twirled around, making a quick slash for Zerath. He let her sword clash into his as she redirected her strike and swiped for his legs.

He quickly stepped backward and evaded her attack before making his own powerful swing across her upper body. Pyrrha, realizing the strike was too close to call leaned away as far as she could and tried using her polarity to push his blazing sword up enough to miss her. But the blade didn't budge an inch.

The burning blade collided with her body and aura, throwing her to the side and into a cartwheel to regain her balance.

"_I guess his semblance really is powerful enough."_ Pyrrha mentally commented as she charged in for another attack. Zerath blocked her sword and kicked her shield away as she followed her attack up with another shield bash.

He then pulled the trigger on his handle, instantly breaking his sword out of its clash before pulling the trigger again. The recoil sent the blade straight back down into Pyrrha's sword and broke through her defense.

Pyrrha had to step to the side and let the blade glance off her own and strike the ground, however another unexpected round was fired off that quickly redirected his falling strike straight into her side.

The slash was quick but the searing pain that followed it was enough for Pyrrha to back off and rethink her strategy. The aura displaying orbs showed hers was in the low yellow range and Zerath's was still hovering in the mid green. This wasn't going as she though it would.

She quickly shifted Miló into its rifle form and released a rapid burst of shots toward Zerath from behind her shield. He blocked the bullets with quick and precise swings backed by the speed of the recoil produced by his sniper rifle.

Sending a few more rounds down range, she ran forward and let his blade bounce off her shield before transforming the rifle into its javelin form instead. She surged the tip forward, attempting to break through his quick defense and utilize the opening she just made.

Zerath pulled the trigger and tensed his arm, but instead of his blade redirecting again he let the force travel backward against his arm as he leaned back. The move was unbelievably fast and he watched the javelin graze across his shirt and just above his chest. Pyrrha made a move to swing downward only for her javelin to be kicked away as Zerath fell back onto one hand and flipped himself into a hand spring.

He landed on his feet and gave her a satisfied smirk. Pyrrha could only look back at him in confusion before holding her shield up in front of herself again, feeling a small chill of intimidation course through her veins just from looking into his eyes. She took this brief moment to return her weapon back into rifle form.

"You really do have some skill. I almost feel bad for doing this." Zerath spoke, his words sending a cold shiver down Pyrrha's spine as the world seemed to slow down. She didn't want to take any chances to she took aim and pulled the trigger. Her adrenaline peaked her senses but it wasn't enough to see and anticipate what Zerath did next.

In a blur of movement, Zerath surged forward with the pull of his own trigger as he ducked under the bullet. It barely grazed his trench coat as he continued forward, his blade switched to its full high caliber sniper form. The slow motion sounds of gears grinding and panels shifting echoed through the trees.

To Pyrrha, the transformation was agonizingly slow as she tried to lift her shield to block whatever attack Zerath was going to release. However, in reality the switch only lasted for a brief second.

He leaped into the air and shot just over Pyrrha's head and behind her, the resounding concussion forcefully threw Pyrrha forward. Zerath followed her flying form instantly as she was thrown under him. He quickly placed the barrel against her back and pulled the trigger, sending a round straight against her upper back.

Pyrrha arched her back away from the sudden throb of pain as she let out a piercing gasp. Zerath let her body fly forward some more, the whole scene seemed to take place in slow movements. The barrel grazed down her back before releasing another bullet, sending another pang of pain into the center of her back. His barrel grazed downward again and he pulled the trigger, sending a third round into her lower back as he continued his flip above his opponent.

Pyrrha tumbled painfully into the ground, gasping for breath and clutching at her back. Zerath landed soon after and he locked his sights onto her downed form again then pulled the trigger, only to be blinded by a brief flash of white light.

His eyes averted from the sudden intrusion and when he looked back, Ashton stood before him. His pink suite flickered with white energy and strands of light. Ashton's eyes, which were usually dark blue with black specks in them, gave off an intimidating but faint white glow. His sandy blonde hair riffled with energy. The quick sound of a bullet drilling into a solid barrier tore through the air and Ashton's extended hand was placed in line with Zerath's barrel.

The bullet was crushed by a tiny glyph that formed in Ashton's hand, then within an instant it disappeared and he closed his fist around the bullet. The smoke from the crushed round in his hand escaped through his fingers as he glared at Zerath.

"Fight's over. Miss Nikos is no longer fit to continue." Ashton spoke in a different tone than usual. Instead of the usual loud and playful voice he used, it was replaced with a low, icy commanding tone that would've made any normal person's blood run cold.

The aura indicators that were displayed over the floating orbs showed Zerath's aura in the low green, almost yellow range of 89%.

Pyrrha's aura meter was flashing red at a critical low…

…4%.

One more shot could've killed her.

Zerath's eyes glanced at Ashton's still smoking fist before he lowered his barrel and took his silent leave. The entire stadium was completely silent as he disappeared down the dark entry tunnel. A gently breeze rustled the surrounding leaves and seemed to pull the audience back into reality, acting as a trigger to initiate a round of applause for the current announcer standing above the downed competitor.

Pyrrha had already passed out from the pain and exhaustion of aura. Her body was working overtime to recuperate the damage that was caused. The cuts across her side and arm still seemed to release an unnatural heat but for some reason, he sensed something off about the energy radiating from them. When he looked at her back, he could tell how much damage it took from those final shots. If he hadn't stepped in when he did, she would've lost her life in an instant or lost all mobility in her lower torso. Which in turn, either outcome would've brutally and immediately crushed her dreams of being a huntress.

He bent down and placed a gentle hand on her unharmed shoulder before disappearing in another flash of white light, only to reappear back on the announcer's balcony seconds later. He picked up his mic again and flashed the audience his ever prideful smile, "And the winner is Zerath Stark!"

The crowd took a second to respond but cheered none the less, most of them taking excitement in the tense fight and others were just in shock of the unbeatable Pyrrha Nikos losing.

* * *

Jaune, Ren, and Nora were absent from the room as soon as they caught word of Pyrrha's current whereabouts. The rest of them gazed out the window or up at the TV in a combination of shock, worry, and fear. The tense atmosphere was broken by a quiet gasp coming from Ruby.

All heads turned toward her and noticed her hands covering her mouth. Her eyes were wavering with worry and glistening almost to the point of tears.

Weiss's hands clenched into fists as she looked back out into the trees.

"He's a monster." She spoke coldly.

Yang seemed to voice her agreement as she pulled her younger sister into a comforting hug. Allix and Skyla were currently curled up on the couch, but they seemed to hum in agreement as well.

Xera, however shook his head. His knuckles turned white as his fists were tightened. "It's not his fault."

Weiss turned toward the guy in the green sweatshirt and huffed, "How is it not his fault? He showed no mercy in that fight, I didn't see a single moment where he decided to hold back."

Xera only grunted in annoyance and let his gaze fall, "He _was_ holding back." He commented, noticing the way his brother moved and fought. It was methodical and calculated, but there's definitely more power inside his brother than what was just put on show.

"That just makes it even worse! But I still don't see why it wasn't his fault." The heiress responded, her frustrations growing.

Xera turned and walked toward the closest wall to lean against it as he shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pocket.

"Everyone steps into their own private traps Weiss. More times than not, you get stuck in them and you can never get out." He started, his bangs were shadowing and hiding his red eyes. "Unfortunately, Zerath was forced into his. He's probably trapped in there until someone pulls him out, and I'm not going to stop until I get my brother back."

Blake silently walked up to Xera and placed a gently hand on his shoulder, trying to ease the tense atmosphere. The contact worked successfully and calmed Xera down a little, his now blue eyes were cast away from the cat-faunus but he didn't make an attempt to move away.

"We'll get him back. There's bound to be a way to do it." Blake spoke quietly enough for only Xera to hear. The two of them were the only ones to know what was truly going on in Zerath's head.

Destiny's wolf ears picked up what Blake whispered as a page in her white book flipped to reveal the next one. Her eyes scanned the page efficiently as she worked to find if it was possible to separate two merged souls. So far, it didn't look very promising but at the current time she couldn't be certain nor confident that she would even be strong enough to do it at all.

Weiss crossed her arms and understood most of what Xera said, but to her, that still didn't make up for what just happened out in the arena.

Sun leaned back on the opposite couch and placed his current half eaten banana on the nearest table, "So what, if it's not his fault then it's not his fault. We'll leave it at that."

"Yeah, we'll figure something out. You always find a way to solve a problem." Anna chipped in, keeping to herself about what her own fox-ears picked up.

Rideat gave Xera a mechanical thumbs-up to add to what Anna said.

"I'm kinda hungry." Skyla pitched in, breaking whatever tension that was left. With that said, she stood up and walked awkwardly to the other side of the room where all the refreshments were.

"I get what you mean by private traps. Everyone has their own wall they have to push through, their biggest obstacle they have to get around." Allix spoke, then began listening to her music again.

The room grew silent for a little while. It wasn't as tense as that fight left the room in but it was working its way to becoming bearable again, but Blake wanted to ask Xera something she's been curious about.

"What about you?" She whispered next to Xera. Her eyes scanned the room to make sure no one picked up on what was being said, "I know that you haven't talked too much about your past yet, but what about your own private trap?" Blake asked, careful not to pry too much but after everything that's been discussed between the two of them, she still had questions.

Xera looked at her for a few seconds, running through the scenarios, answers and possible reactions. His already blue eyes grew darker before turning away again, "I was born in mine." He spoke quietly, almost inaudibly but he knew Blake's cat ears could pick up what he said. If his mind wasn't as distracted is it was now, he would've known just how strong a wolf's hearing was and he would've moved the conversation outside. Destiny heard and was well aware of his pain. Her own eternal struggle reminded her of back when her hands of time grew to a stop.

* * *

As the crowds cheered, Ashton turned around and clapped his hands, "You know he broke the rules Ozpin. Why did you tell me to let him move on?"

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, relishing the taste as he gave a stoic look toward Ashton, "Because he has to." He responded vaguely.

Ashton's unwavering trust toward Ozpin was strong, but something like this just didn't sit right for him. However, Ozpin has never given Ashton a reason not to trust him, so he reluctantly agreed to the headmaster's request.

"Alright, but give Miss Nikos a few days off from Beacon. She took a beating." Ashton voiced his concerns before glancing at Glynda, who gave him a simple nod in return. While Ashton's gaze was cast on Ozpin a few seconds ago, she beat down her own blush that formed during Ashton's sudden heroics. Glynda would never admit it to the man, but that stunt he pulled made him look incredibly attractive...

…even if he was wearing a pink tux.

"Thank you Glynda, now if you wouldn't mind alerting the next two up that would be great. Oh, and can you notify team JNPR about where the medical wing is?" He asked and the woman abided to his request.

Ashton gave a grateful smile before whirling around and addressing the crowd.

"The next match will be the tipsy Irishman with a flail, PATRICK O'HARRY! And his opponent is the greatest card slinger of all time. His gambling skills are unrivaled and might I just add, he looks awesome in that cowboy hat of his! He's GABRIEL STRYKER!" Ashton exclaimed again, seamlessly slipping back into his playful and prideful announcer's voice.

The crowd went wild.

Gabriel stepped forward out of the shadows, already spinning a light blue and red card on his finger tips of each hand. His purple eyes fell upon the familiar floating orbs in curiosity before deciding to ignore them and looking forward.

Patrick however, stumbled out of his own tunnel and was currently poking the glowing green lens of the observational orb. He then made a grab for it only to fall forward and face plant the forest floor.

"Let's get this next fight started! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! LET'S GO!" Ashton announced the start and the orbs repeated the same display as last time and finished the count down with flashes of green light.

With a grumble, Patrick hoisted himself back up onto his unstable feet and stumbled forward through the trees. Despite his drunken state, he stepped around the trees skillfully and used his staff as a walking stick.

Patrick moved forward and eventually came across a patch of odd looking flowers. The petals were light blue and they seemed to release a steady blue glow. He stumbled to a stop and lifted an eye brow, his drunken eyes became fixated on the glow and curiosity got the better of him.

He felt this overwhelming urge to pluck one.

So, he bent down.

***Whoosh***

A glowing red card whizzed by over his head just as he bent over. However, he didn't seem to notice as he reached out and tried to pluck one of the flowers. It proved to be a little more difficult than he thought it would be so he put some extra strength into it. The plant snapped and Patrick fell backward from the sudden break.

***Whoosh***

A second glowing blue card grazed past his nose as he fell onto his backside. The blue flower in his hands glowed faintly before dissolving into a mixture of blue and green dust.

"Aw, well that sucks." He muttered, then stood up only to stumble forward slightly.

***Whoosh***

A third card burst through the foliage and narrowly missed Patrick, whose stumble forward was completely unexpected.

"Huh?" Patrick turned toward the noise and noticed and slightly irritated Gabriel leaning against a tree. Three more cards were tucked between his fingers of his extended hand.

"Damn. I guess my reapers were a little slow." Gabriel muttered before pulling the tip of his cowboy hat down with his free hand. The action cast a shadow over the top of his face and made his sparking purple eyes more prominent in the darkness.

He then stepped forward and sent the three cards toward his opponent. Patrick in response swung his staff to smack them away, he successfully batted two of the reapers away only for the third one to collide with his chest.

His entire upper body froze solid just as two more blue cards smashed into his feet, freezing them in place and pinning him to the ground.

Gabriel took out a handful of cards, the small cluster was an assortment of colors.

Patrick's eyes widened before he cleared his throat and waved his hand, his pointer and middle fingers extended lazily. "I am not the man you are looking for." He spoke mystically.

Gabriel stopped in his tracks for a brief second, but that was enough time for Patrick to put his staff into its flail form and break the ice. Of course, he did so by smashing the spikey ball into himself.

Once he was freed, he charged his opponent and switched his flail back into its staff mode to take a swing. Gabriel blocked the attack with his own compacted staff and kicked Patrick away. As the drunken competitor stumbled backward, Gabriel extended his staff and let the metal end slam into Patrick's gut. The collision set off a small kinetic explosion that pushed the Irishman back even further.

Patrick's feet skidded through the dirt as he regained his balance and batted away a few more elemental cards. He took heavy steps forward and continued swinging, successfully knocking away some others before blocking a heavy kinetic strike from Gabriel's staff.

They traded blows and each time they connected attacks, the impact sent a resounding clang and explosion of energy. Patrick was able to break through Gabriel's guard and smash the end of his staff into his opponent's chest a few times before his attack was deflected.

Gabriel struck the underside of Patrick's staff and knocked the end upward before swinging his own staff around and slamming it into Patrick's shins. The Irishman tumbled to the ground but was able to block the downward smash from the cowboy.

The dirt and leaves around the two of them were forced back from the sudden explosion of kinetic energy. This one was much stronger than the previous ones and forced Patrick into the ground even more.

At this point, Gabriel stepped back and smashed his staff into Patrick's blocking staff again, sending out another shock wave of energy.

The two of them were locked in a forceful clash before Gabriel pulled out the remaining cards from his right holster and stepped back.

"Ever play 52 card pickup?" He asked rhetorically before tossing the cards into the air and sprinting out of range.

Patrick spun his staff above himself in the hole he found himself in but the effort wasn't enough to ward off the explosions that followed. His surroundings were suddenly barraged by countless elemental explosions, most of the cluster landed directly on top of and around his embedded form.

"And there it is folks! Gabriel Stryker has claimed victory again! Maybe Mr. O'Harry should try not to drink so much before fighting, although it was rather entertaining."

The crowd cheered again just as the smoke cleared, revealing a dazed and battered Patrick still embedded in the ground.

Gabriel stepped out from behind a nearby tree and decided to help the guy up, giving him a pat on the back before walking off toward the nearest entry tunnel. Patrick followed behind him after a few seconds. That time was used to pull out a quick mug of mead and take a quick swig.

The competitors disappeared into the shadows of the tunnels.

"Okay, how about a little biome shift?!" Ashton yelled out to the stands through the loud speakers.

Needless to say, the answer was enough to rumble the coliseum.

* * *

**And boom! Sorry for the wait, school had this amazing idea to keep loading up on homework up until finals. This week alone was just work and little time to actually sit down and write a chapter for you. But, I digress, it's still just an excuse. School ends in a week so I hope I can be a little more active over summer break. Anyway, that was two more fights complete. I'm sure Pyrrha will be fine. Although, I wonder if Patrick's play for "These are not the droids you are looking for," actually worked or not. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed these beat downs and will anticipate what the next fights will have to offer. I'll see you then. **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	45. Ashton's Stonehenge

**Sorry for the delay, been on the vast ocean for the last 7 days. It was awesome! Must. Resist. Urge. To. Throw. Towels. On. Ground! Oh, and eating habits too. Man, I'll miss it but no point in wallowing around in self enjoyment of what's already past. If you ever have trouble finding a vacation plan, I'd recommend a cruise. But they're only as fun as the people you're with. No sense in going alone. I spent some of my time trying to catch a sunset over the water but that never happened due to weather and overcast. However, the last day was beautiful anyway. Our last sea day, for some odd reason, was spent on the calmest ocean I've ever seen. Seriously, the surface was smooth and reflective. The sky was filled with hues of purple, pink, orange, and yellow. It was as if we were sailing on the clouds. No random waves were breaking on the surface, it was all smooth crests and gentle ripples caused by our ship. Plenty of pictures were taken that day. I spent an hour just staring out and watching the sun disappear behind the cover of clouds, eventually losing its color and becoming dark. Then we played mini-golf under the stars on the smooth ocean. It wasn't even too hot, it was the perfect weather. Not too cool, not too hot, just warm with a gentle breeze. Let's just say, that was one of my favorite moments on the cruise. Anyway, looks like I've left you hanging around for a while so I think it's time to get myself back into the swing of things. Chapter 45 (Oh, we're that far already? Nearly 50?! Honestly never noticed but the pride is there, it truly is) is here and I can't wait to see what you guys think. Big plans, big plans in my head for upcoming events…but I'll still go with my style of planning on the spot and watching as things just build off each other as I write. No set path, just an end point that I'll reach however way I can. How I get there is up to the muses that sway my writing. Plenty of fun to be had, and if you actually read this A/N, here's a little sneak peak as to what the future holds. No Island will continue standing against a phoenix battered and scorned. That being said, why is it that the fiery bird came back with a hot fox? Especially one with multiple tails?**

**See you at the bottom.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 45: Ashton's Stonehenge

**3rd Person**

Jaune sat next to one of the multiple beds located in the medical wing of Aero Coliseum. To his amazement, the place struck a remarkable resemblance to the Roman Colosseum that used to stand in Rome. Although this one had a few differences, like a biome simulating arena and dome.

Okay, maybe that was a bigger difference than he originally thought.

Accompanied by those thoughts in his head, his main concern was the red haired beauty before him. Her aura was subtly pulsing and rising, giving her that ethereal look despite the bruises and bandages wrapped around her form.

Her usual pale skin looked more pale than normal, and her irregular breathing was apparent as well, although it has steadied significantly over the time that he's been here at her side.

Jaune wasn't the only one though.

Ren and Nora sat idly on the other side of the bed in their own respective chairs. Nora was humming softly and kicking her feet while Ren sat quietly reading _'Professor Arc'_.

Jaune has been enjoying his own book lately, but he believed now just wasn't the time. _'Auburn' _can wait.

Ren felt the same way, but he found it'd be awkward for Pyrrha to wake up to be greeted by 3 pairs of eyes staring at her. Watching someone sleep just wasn't something he'd feel comfortable doing, but he couldn't help but cast glances over his book to observe Pyrrha's state and Jaune's worried expression.

Honestly, the blonde knight was horrible at hiding his feelings. Why can't those two just be happy and stop stepping around the fact that they both feel the same way?

His careful pink eyes roamed over the aura monitor for the eighth time and watched as the percentage was steadily rising, albeit extremely slowly.

The aura stimulant was working the way it should but whatever combination of dust that was coating Zerath's blade, for whatever reason, was slowing the aura regeneration process.

He even had to hold Nora back from running out there and breaking his legs on the spot. He's never seen her so angry before, not even when someone stole a pancake from her plate. Usually she'd joke about breaking someone's legs, but this time didn't feel like a joke.

She was seriously going to bash that man's bones to literal dust.

If she could get that far.

Doubt was a huge factor running through Ren's head right now. How could anyone fight that guy without sustaining injury or emotional turmoil? Just why did everyone's semblance fail when facing him?

Just why was he here?

Nora's gaze met his own, and her idle kicking stopped in favor of giving him a distractedly cute smile. But he knew it was a façade. It was sad really, to see someone usually so happy be brought down to the point of putting up a false smile in order to warm the situation at hand.

He fought every urge within himself to pull her into his embrace. To console her and tell her he'd personally break Zerath's legs for her.

But he couldn't. He couldn't find it in himself to do just that. His chance was lost when Nora's smile dropped and her gaze landed softly on the blonde leader of the room.

His blue eyes were glazed over in a reflective sheen of water, and his hand held Pyrrha's in its palm, gently massaging the back of it with his thumb.

How could someone like that be related to someone like Xera? It just didn't make sense. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible.

Knowing that they weren't blood related was comforting, but it wasn't enough. They grew up together. Xera spoke of Zerath so fondly it was almost infuriating to see someone so different than what he once was.

There was no way he was the same brother.

Something was different. Something felt off about Zerath.

The only way to settle something like this was to wait and see what happens. It was the only option but that only annoyed him even more so.

Why weren't there more options? Ren hated being forced to succumb to a single possible path to take.

But what could he do?

He knew if he confronted Zerath he'd lose. He knew that confronting Xera about the issue it'd only be brushed off for another time.

His only option was to sit here and watch as everything else fell into place.

With that final agitating thought, he returned to his book to try and finish the page he's been on for the past 15 minutes.

Only to realize he had no recollection of what happened in the past couple of pages he's read while sitting here.

He sighed silently and back tracked to the last part he remembered reading and continued off from there, his distracted mind only becoming more distracted. He soon gave up on reading and turned his attention to Pyrrha.

Reading just wasn't possible right now with the current worries rushing through his head.

"I'm going to grab a drink. Anyone want anything?" He asked as he stood up and pocketed his book.

Nora perked up at the thought and stood up as well. "I'll come too. Jaune, got any drinks that peak your fancy?" She asked.

No answer came as he continued waiting for Pyrrha to become conscious again.

"We'll just get him some water. Let's go Nora." He stated, casting a sympathetic gaze toward his leader before taking his leave.

"Coming Ren." Nora responded without her usual cheer. Her head was kept low and her gaze drifted around the tiles at her feet as she walked.

* * *

"Okay, how about a little biome shift?!" Ashton yelled out to the stands through the loud speakers.

The coliseum rumbled to life again from the cheers and stomping of feet as the panels below began to shift and vibrate. The once sturdy and tall trees shook and collapsed into piles of dust again before the dome above began to glow a brilliant blue color.

The entire forest became a thin pile of dust as it lay below on the vibrating panels. An atmospheric change took place as the dome pieces above reduced the temperature of the arena to freezing temperatures within the arena grounds.

Observers in the stands were saved by the sudden heat coming from the seats they sat on.

All the idle dust that was arranged in a pattern by vibrations began to move and swirl, soon the entire arena floor grew white and snow began to accumulate on the ground. Mounds rose and small hills became apparent as every pile of snow grew in size and soon covered the floor entirely.

A thick ice platform formed at the center of the arena completing the ice biome shift and giving the contestants a steady area to fight on.

From the ice in the center rose numerous pillars made of the same durable crystal ice, eventually they became abundant and tall all around the newly made ice courtyard. A larger, much wider, pillar rose higher than the rest in the center of the ice and created a taller fighting platform. The surrounding pillars served as adaptable fighting stepping stones as well, allowing the competitors to reach the center platform or fight on the dispersed elevated pillars.

"Now then, how 'bout we welcome back the one armed blind bandit himself, Rideat Dente! And his opponent, the quiet boomerang user and strategist, he's Xera Stark!" Ashton exclaimed, his breath easily noticeable in the newly cooled air.

Xera decided to keep his hood flipped down for this fight in order to favor vision over hiding from the crowds. He still decided to listen to music though, as he ejected his ear buds from his scroll and placed them gently in his ears.

A favorite playlist began to play as he stepped out into the snow.

Realizing that walking on top of the snow could arise some suspicion, he focused his fire to heat of the soles of his sneakers as he walked. Smirking at the desired effect, he walked slowly forward with deep steps, the added heat making it look like he sunk into the snow slightly with every step.

Across the arena floor, Rideat approached in a similar fashion. The barrel in his mechanical palm spun idly as he flicked it, cycling through the colors. His beanie covered his eyes, but his semblance kicked in for easy guidance.

He soon found himself standing on an icy pillar at his far end while Xera stood on his own at the other end.

"Looks like we finally got our rematch!" Rideat called out.

Xera nodded, giving a small smirk of agreement as he drew his blades from over his shoulders. His breath was slow and steady, also easily noticeable in the current biome. Rideat kept his senses trained on Xera's current location and breathed steadily as well. Wisps of visible air dispersed in front of himself as well with every breath.

"Alright! As you can see, this biome is much easier to see so there is no need for the aura orbs or so many observation orbs. Fear not however, they will still be filming the fight and allow for ease of watching the screens. Not to mention that this is being broadcasted as well!" Ashton explained as he waved his hand in a flourish, sweeping over the various holographic screens around the arena stands.

Seemingly to prove his point, a small fleet of reflective metal orbs floated out of the entrance tunnels. The two groups zeroed in on their respective targets and started releasing live feeds to the screens.

The large monitor above soon glowed to life and revealed the aura levels of Xera and Rideat, the two bars had profile images of them below, respectively, and percentage value above as well.

"Okay! Let's do this! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Fight!" Ashton's voice pierced through the cold air and shook the pillars below.

Xera and Rideat shot into action as the latter sent a quick burst of lightning dust from his mechanical arm at the aura signature before him. Xera quickly dashed to the side, easily finding traction on the ice and making his way around on top of the exterior pillars.

Rideat rotated the chamber to a fiery red color and began launching quick bursts of focused fire. However, every shot only dispersed harmlessly around Xera's body as he continued his dashed leaps. Switching targets, the hyena faunus shot the pillars in front of Xera instead and partially melted each one. The surface of the ice became slick and the stepping area on top was reduced in size.

The difference in friction caused the phoenix to lose his footing in his next step and slip. His form flipped through the air and off course. Without many other options, he twirled himself around in the air and shifted his boomerangs into their model 1887 shotgun forms.

He primed and pulled the trigger of the right firearm just in time to change direction. Xera tensed his arm to allow the recoil to push up into his body and send him toward a far pillar. The new direction allowed him to slip around a burst of lightning from Rideat. The energy grazed by Xera's upside down form and struck a pillar behind him.

The shattered ice dispersed into shards as Xera passed by. After clearing past the debris he aimed his other shotgun at the cloud of ice and pulled the trigger. The impact of the gravity round that was detonated sent Xera spinning upright and the shards of ice accelerating at high speeds toward his opponent.

Rideat quickly dove to the side and skidded across a couple pillars. Ice shards shattered at his feet and against his arm as he evaded. The chamber quickly rotated in his palm and the last of the ice barrage was dispersed with a quick burst of fire.

That last defense depleted his fire dust completely and left him with whatever lightning dust he had left and his other remaining dusts.

The steam from the melted ice lingered, but the cloud was soon pierced by a spinning black blade. Rideat bent backward and struck the bottom of the passing sword with his sharp mechanical claws, lifting it just enough to pass by overhead and circle back around.

His balance was soon shifted and he felt himself grow weightless. He only realized too late that the second blade just smashed its way through the base of his current pillar and the whole structure was toppling over.

Rideat slammed his claws into the ice and spun himself around to plant his feet back onto the surface of the falling ice. He quickly leaped off and spun in the air, his arm extended to smash away the re-thrown first blade. He deftly landed on the central tall platform and skidded to a stop by digging his claws into its surface.

Xera soon caught his blades and leapt over onto the other side of the platform. The two circled each other at the edges of the ice, their steps were slow and careful to avoid slipping and leaving an unwanted opening.

Rideat took initiative and charged first, prompting Xera to throw his first boomerang. The flying blade was evaded as Rideat slid to his knees and glided across the ice beneath the arc. He dropped to his side and pushed off with his metal arm, flipping into the air and making a lethal swipe with his claws.

Xera threw himself out of the way and slid around the attack, using his other boomerang as a way of control by digging its tip into the ice. Gliding around, he kicked Rideat's recently grounded legs out from under him and caught his first boomerang. He used the momentum from the catch to send the blade slicing across Rideat's recovering form.

The slash made a significant dent in his aura but that didn't matter right now. Rideat was enjoying this fight. It was becoming harder and harder to win, which only increased his desire to achieve victory and rely on his instincts.

Rideat crashed to the ground and blew up his side of the pillar by slamming his palm into the ice and detonating an explosive dust charge. Half of the tall frozen platform shattered into fragments and the hyena plummeted with the falling shards.

Xera watched as his opponent spun around and dug his claws into the side of the remaining half as he fell. He swung himself around and kicked off, redirecting his fall to a secondary pillar and kicking off from there as well. Rideat made his way back up to the smaller platform in seconds and sent a wild slash toward Xera's throat.

Xera bounced his blade off the underside of Rideat's arm and sent the attack off course before turning on his heel and slashing his other blade across Rideat's chest again.

The two skidded back to opposite edges, their ragged breath's dispersed into the air as they kept a close eye on their respective competitor. Xera just now noticed the sadistic grin on Rideat's face, soon followed by his rapidly shaking shoulder.

Sadistic and high pitched laughter sounded out as Rideat pulled out his electric baton and gripped it in his normal hand.

"What? No semblance today?" He asked, temporarily stopping his laugh.

Xera breathed heavier, senses an instinctual change in Rideat's personality. Just how long was this faunus fending for himself, and in this unforgiving world no less?

Deciding not to elicit any provocative words, Xera decided to stay quiet and shrug his shoulders. Rideat, in turn, laughed again and charged with his baton in a much more wild frenzy than before.

Xera had trouble finding his footing while blocking deadly clash slashes and baton smashes with his blades. Each successful parry was followed by an equally deadly blow from Rideat's baton or claw.

In a last ditch effort to drop Rideat's aura into the red and stop his primal instincts, Xera slid in and slashed both his blades across the hyena's chest.

It wasn't enough.

Rideat's mechanical arm shot out and grabbed Xera by the head. The chamber in the palm rotated and locked on a bright icy blue.

His sadistic smirk was only amplified by the growing blue hue that graced his face. In an instant, he lifted Xera by the head. The phoenix had to drop his blades to grip onto the mechanical arm holding him in a vice grip to reduce the pain.

Rideat detonated the ice charge point blank and threw Xera's form into the air. He knew full well that ice had the potential to be extremely lethal against a phoenix, but his instincts were set to kill right now. Nothing else mattered, so concern was tossed to the wind as he watched Xera flip limply in the air, disarmed and in pain.

Xera, biting through the pain, shook his head as he spun around in the air. The throbbing in his head was only amplified by his movements but he ignored it and focused. The remaining ice fragments in his hair melted away in a burst of fire and his piercing eyes iced over.

They transitioned to an glaring ice blue and his newly frozen glare was enough to send cold shivers down Rideat's spine. Xera's form in the air spun and he planted his feet against a newly formed glyph. Time began to slow down as the glyph began to glow.

Rideat tried to move away but his efforts were immediately nullified by a powerful forced pushing him down to his knees. Everything suddenly felt extremely heavy as he looked up from below the glyph and Xera. The ice around him cracked and shattered in random placed as his knees sunk further into the platform.

Xera felt his gravity increase exponentially as his body grew heavy. The strain on his muscles and bones was intense but not lethal. His aura transferred to his feet and he leaped off the glyph in a burst of fire. The added explosion in combination with the increased gravity sent him hurtling straight into Rideat's body in an instant.

The collision shattered the entire top portion of the pillar of ice into countless shards and pieces. Both of their bodies crushed through the falling shards at a much faster velocity. Xera's gravitational tackle sent them both smashing through the rest of the pillar. The entire icy structure was destroyed as Xera pushed Rideat through until slamming his form against the final hardened layers of ice below.

The impact shook the remaining surrounding pillars of ice to the point of shattering, creating a dust cloud of kicked up snow and ice.

"Xera Stark wins!" Ashton yelled out.

Rideat's aura dropped into the red in that final attack while Xera's remained in the low yellow range.

The coliseum shook in cheering as Xera pushed himself off the unconscious blind faunus below him. Unfortunately, knocking the guy out was the only way he could think of to knock the sense back into him.

It worked successfully, to an extent.

Xera brushed some stray hairs out of his face as he finally noticed the lack of music. He looked down and noticed his ear buds were nowhere to be seen. The scroll in his pocket had a severed wire protruding from it now.

"When did _that_ happen?" He muttered to himself.

"About 12 minutes into the fight!" Ashton answered without missing a beat.

Xera reluctantly stopped his music and pushed aura into his golden bracelets. The lost boomerangs buried in the snow soon emerged and shot out of the ruble. He caught both of his blades simultaneously, each one sent a reverberating pang through his arm.

"_I really need to work on my aura control when I do that." _He deadpanned in his thoughts as he reconnected his blades to the small magnetic panel on his back. After shaking his hands a bit to reduce the lingering pain, he reached down and poked the down hyena's shoulder.

No response.

Pretty soon, a team of two nurses from the medical wing emerged with a stretcher and lifted Rideat out of the arena. Xera followed closely behind with a baton in his hand, being sure to get the weapon returned to its rightful owner.

"Okay, so that may have been a little overkill and wrecked the arena. Glynda, instead of having you rebuild it, how 'bout we just switch over to option 9 shall we?" Ashton asked over his shoulder, causing the woman to let out a silent sigh of relief and activate the next biome shift.

The snow in the arena collapsed in on itself and the ice followed suit soon after, the atmosphere became much warmer again and the thin layer of dust bouncing around on the floor soon began to move and construct the next biome.

The ground began to increase in vibration frequency and the synthetic construction of dust increased in noise and speed.

A large grassy plane sprouted out across the arena floor, soon followed by pillars of stone arranged in a large circle. Some of the stone columns had a horizontal stone lying across the top of two pillars, others simply had a large pillar leaning against them as they stood tall.

"Did you replicate Stonehenge?" Glynda asked in astonishment and slight annoyance.

"Of course my dear! Why wouldn't I? It's always been on my bucket list to blow it up." Ashton responded excitedly.

Glynda shook her head and questioned herself on why she even asked him that question.

"Whelp, let's introduce the next fighters!" Ashton turned and bellowed into the mic. "Please welcome to the ring, the archer of team Sahara, she's the red arrow, she's Allix Stowe! And her opponent, the wickedly sharp reaper in the red cloak, the youngest ever to go to Beacon Academy, she's Ruby Rose!" He announced, introducing the next fight.

Ruby skipped up into position, her compacted Crescent Rose resting idly behind her waist as she enjoyed the light breeze blowing through the current valley. Her hair swayed in the wind as she looked past her red tips and gazed at the other equally red competitor.

Allix walked out from her own entry tunnel with her bow strapped to her back. The sharpened blades glistened in the sunlight as she cranked up her music. Her eyes avoided the stands entirely and instead focused on the young leader who stood across the grassy field at the other end of the arena.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! RELEASE THE COLOR RED IN ALL IT'S DESTRUCTIVE GLORY!" Ashton screamed into the mic like an intimidating battle cry.

Ruby surged across the field in a flurry of rose petals and switched her weapon into its extended lethal scythe mode in a flourish of metallic panel shifts and extensions. Allix anticipated a quick close quarter's combat and had already broken her bow into its dual blades to block the first swing.

The metallic clang resounded off the center stones as the two clashed again. This time, Allix was holding her own against the giant swings of Ruby's scythe.

However, speed was still a factor to calculate. Ruby used her semblance to boost her attacks and the wide slashes from her scythe suddenly became invisible to the naked eye.

Allix noticed this immediately and used her own semblance to sharpen her gaze and slow her breathing. She paid careful attention to the attacks and parried them off course.

Ruby used each parry to bring her scythe completely back around and fuel its power for the attacks that follow. Allix had unfortunately caused an unexpected bladed cyclone to appear full force in the grassy arena.

Allix took off running in hopes of evading the twirling blade but she still sustained multiple slashes across her back as she made her hasty escape. Ruby soon stopped spinning and held her head, her eyes were dazed and unfocused and Allix could literally see small birds circling the younger girls head.

Allix immediately slammed her blades back together and began launching arrows toward Ruby as she tried to regain her bearings. She successfully impacted half a dozen arrows before Ruby found her senses again and evaded the rest.

Ruby responded to the arrows with her now compacted sniper-scythe and started shooting back. The arena shook as Allix re-targeted her shots to collide with Ruby's bullets halfway. The impacts shook the arena grounds and caused some of the stone pillars to crumble. A few even shattered due to stray bullet and arrow impacts.

For defensive purposes, Ruby took cover behind the nearest stone pillar and shot from that new position. It provided both cover and a clean line of sight on her target, which gave her a temporary advantage against the archer.

That advantage didn't last long as Allix started shooting her arrows at the pillars behind Ruby. Each arrow collided against newly formed smaller glyphs on the stones and bounced off to strike Ruby's back.

Ruby quickly dove to the side, avoiding some of the arrows but getting shot in the middle of her dive anyway by a well-placed explosive arrow.

Her small form was sent skidding behind the adjacent pillars where she bounced to her feet and adjusted her strategy.

The clip in Crescent Rose clattered to the ground as she produced a new one from her belt and locked it into place. Her small hand primed the bolt back and slammed it back in to prime the new bullet into her baby's chamber.

It was time to try something new.

Ruby spun her scythe around and pointed it behind herself, she shifted on her feet into a runner's stance and tensed her body to handle the new recoil.

Allix took a few more shots toward Ruby's location but they all connected with nothing but air. Ruby was gone.

Soon after, the entire stadium shook again and the pillar where Ruby once stood exploded in a storm of shattered stone and dust. A resounding explosion bounced off every wall as the delayed shock wave finally reached Allix's ears.

A streak of red shot from the explosion and smashed into Allix's unprepared guard. The young reaper appeared for an instant before priming another shot and detonating it into the ground below them just as she locked Allix in a vice grip.

They both we sent surging into the air in a larger streak of red, the combined lines were finally broken when the streak suddenly made a sharp turn and redirected toward the ground. The sharp bend was followed soon after by another sharp explosion and concussive force from Ruby's scythe.

The grass below seemed to sense its impending doom as the blades of green bent away from the force of impact. Ruby smashed Allix into the center of the arena and sent the stone pillars toppling over with the force of the collision. The ground caved inward slightly but stopped when it struck much harder and infinitely more durable panels beneath.

Ruby jumped off the embedded archer and fired a point blank round down against her competitor. The dirt and grass around them was suddenly dispersed by an explosive wave of force and Ruby was sent sky high again from the recoil. Allix just lay in the center of the newly formed crater, the once fully constructed Stonehenge was obliterated and replaced with ruble and dispersed dirt.

The shadow in the sky twirled around and landed at the edge of the crater. Her scythe was posed behind her back and the recent bullet's shell was ejected from its cartridge. The gleaming metal seemed to shimmer in the sunlight as it smoked and flipped through the air before embedding itself in the ground nearby.

The pose was complete with a slight tilt of the head and an innocent smile.

Allix would've been annoyed by this if it hadn't been for her helping the scythe wielder learn to control herself at that speed.

"WHOA! DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT! NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! RUBY ROSE TAKES THE VICTORY!" Ashton yelled out over the cheering and chanting.

Allix hoisted herself up to her feet and took a step, her pained walk was ended as quickly as it began as Ruby appeared at her side and tucked herself under Allix's arm for support. The two walked off and out of the arena while commenting on the battle.

"Did…you have…to use…your _sonic_ rounds?" Allix breathed out as they disappeared into the tunnel.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have won if I didn't." Ruby replied in her usual cheery voice.

Allix huffed but didn't deny the subtle compliment hidden in that response. She's become accustomed to sparring with the young red leader since they were both marksmen to an extent. They would usually find each other at the firing range, which lead to the development of Ruby's new sonic rounds.

With the current gravity rounds that have already been developed. Allix, with the help of some research done by Weiss, as well as Xera's help, was able to manipulate the gravity burst and change it to create a small vacuum on detonation. The rest of the round would explode around that vacuum and cause a forceful burst of focused air and propulsion. It was the perfect bullet for Ruby and her way of fighting.

"Alright! Seeing as another item on my bucket list has been checked off, let's switch over to some new scenery!" Ashton announced just as the stadium floor began to vibrate.

* * *

**And, there we go. Tada! What do you think? I think next up will be a break chapter from the fighting to fit in some character interaction and Skyla mischief, by that I mean Sky will write the next chapter. Have fun reading that since we are now past halfway through the matches of the second bracket. I hope you're enjoying the carnage because that's not the end of it, there's plenty more to come. I hope you've been enjoying yourselves. Oh, and those subtly referenced books at the start were more fanfics that I've come to really enjoy and anticipate updates for. I'll just let you know now that the stories I reference are, in my opinion, great and well made. These latest two are on a much higher level however and they're definitely worth looking in to. Anyway, **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**

**If you like hilarity and Jaune's bad luck, however he is much more charming in this story and somehow becomes a young teacher who has caught the student-body's eye, go read this story…**

…**Professor Arc - Coeur Al'Aran**

**This next one is a well-made Black Knight story between Blake and Jaune. The beginning shows off a much more brutal initiation process and the story has taken a seriously intense turn for the better awesomeness. Suspense, romance, adventure, drama, everything is here…**

…**Auburn – Super Saiyan Cyndaquil**


	46. Pulsatonic

**Change of plans with the break chapter. With the way it turned out, it's better to place it when these fights are concluded. Plus, chapter 50 is coming up, so I hope I can time this right. Something special shall happen on that one. Or, I hope that's how it turns out. Either way, epicness awaits. Prepare you're fluffy blankets.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 46: Pulsatonic

**3rd Person**

"Alright! Seeing as another item on my bucket list has been checked off, let's switch over to some new scenery!" Ashton announced just as the stadium floor began to vibrate.

The grassy field dissipated and the stone's throughout the arena collapsed into piles of dust. The mounds began shifting again and swirling, changing color to begin building the new biome. Soon enough, a tall stone structure began to rise from the center of the panels.

The sandy cobble walls nearly reached the dome's roof, then once at full height, the openings at its base spewed out sand to cover the rest of the ground with the brittle crystals. A temple stood tall, its frame basked in the sunlight. The shape nearly resembled a tomb, or rather, something a treasure hunter would dream of plundering.

"Okey Doke! Watch out for the Indie Ball in this thing 'cause this little temple is riddled with booby traps!" Ashton exclaimed, spreading his arms and showing off one of his most advanced stages for the smallest setting of the coliseum.

"How were you able to create working traps out of something as natural as dust?" Glynda asked from behind the eccentric announcer.

With a twirl and a flick of his tuxedo, he gave a quick bow before turning away. "Sorry, not even to _you_ do I reveal all my tricks." They say his cheeky smile could be sensed, even when he wasn't looking at you. In this case, Glynda could literally hear that blasted smile cross his features before turning to address the crowd.

"Now! It looks like Fate has a bone to pick because these star-crossed ex-lovers still have a little intertwined Destiny to deal with! At least they can fight it out now in this arena! Please welcome the lone wolf, her powerful summons can decimate any opponent she deems worthy of destruction, she's Destiny Echols! And now, in the other corner, he's the mysterious enigma of black and white itself, his past only hazed over with grey hues and layers of stone, yet his brilliant skills with duel knives is still a force to be reckoned with, he's Mordant Zurcader!" The man in pink exclaimed before extending his hands out. A fleet of extra observation orbs streamed out of the shadows behind him and lowered into the arena below. All of the holographic images around the stands lit up in an instant and new feeds began to broadcast throughout Aero Coliseum.

Destiny stepped out of her dark tunnel, her opponent wasn't ideal, but she still had to fight him to move on. Her hand hovered over the white book at her side, but retracted soon after. "Not yet, just a little longer. I can't show off just yet. Looks like it's just me again, Albus."

"Awe! But I really wanted to tear him limb from limb, can I please just have a little bite?!" The book glowed faintly as a heated voice emanated from its closed pages.

"No, I need to deal with this on my own." She responded, reaching up to fix her glasses. The sun beamed down and illuminated her form soon after. The sun gleamed off her black hair and the tails of the purple bow on her back blew with the wind. Her ears flicked slightly before zeroing in on her opponent, but she couldn't hear anything. It looks like she'll meet him in combat within the temple itself.

Across the arena, Mordant double checked the knives lining the inner parts of his trench coat before running a hand through his hair. "Man, this is gonna suck." His black eyes scanned over the aura orbs in front of him and wondered just how long he'll last.

"I have a bet down for 11 minutes. Ozpin settled for 8." Ashton's voice echoed from a nearby observation orb, its green lens focused on Mordant as it panned around him.

"Heh, comforting." The teen mumbled before arming himself and taking in his surroundings.

"LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! FIGHT!" Ashton started the match with a booming voice.

Mordant disappeared into the entrance of the temple. The corridors were luminously lit with torches and his echoing footsteps could be heard throughout the rest of the temple. Pretty soon, he took a turn and immediately skidded to a stop.

The light flickered from the torches for a second, giving him the reflective gleam needed to reveal the trip wire that lay before him. "Booby traps, huh? He wasn't kidding." Mordant cautiously stepped over the wire before continuing his charge.

A few more evaded pressure plates and trip wires later, he came across a large central room. The entire chamber was illuminated with a glowing yellow orb of fire high up at the center. The tall structure outside gave it room to illuminate everything below it, giving the whole room an ominous feel.

Aside from the stone steps in the middle with a pedestal located on them, the rest of the room was covered in a thin layer of sand and a winding path of stones. Two paths actually. One snaked out from the opposite entrance, and one snaked out from his own.

Atop the pedestal was some sort of golden artifact, but Mordant couldn't make out what it was from the distance he stood at. "Right, let me guess. If I take a single step in the sand, something catastrophic will happen. Noted." He stated sarcastically before taking a hesitant step onto the stone path.

"It's about time you got here."

Mordant nearly tripped into the sand when that new voice resounded off the walls.

His onyx eyes cast upward in search of the voice, but he couldn't make anything out. The room was nicely lit, but there were still shadows around the edges.

"Did you wait long?" He responded, hoping to pinpoint her location if she spoke again.

"Not really." Destiny responded, her icy breath grazing the back of his neck. Mordant's instincts kicked in as he swung around in a full 180, making sure to keep his footing on the stone path as he did so. His blades met nothing as the wolf-faunus leapt into the air and flipped around to plant both feet solidly against the back of Mordant's head.

The force sent him into a forward roll along the serpentine stones, as he rolled against his upper back he took aim with his trench knives and fired their current blades at the landing Destiny.

She kicked off the ground and successfully avoided one of the two, however the second one exploded in a volatile flamed burst of dust. The empty knives were quickly reloaded as Mordant rolled to his feet and turned to face his opponent.

Her eyes were downcast but quickly met his, both of their resolves held strong as they made the silent decision to clash. The two competitors surged forward, their heavy steps kicked up the sand along the pathway as they drew back their attacks.

Mordant's primary swipe was parried as Destiny met it with a swift upward kick, the force allowed her to follow through and leap up, allowing her to spin around and bring it back for an aerial round-house kick. The force behind the blow was barely evaded, but Mordant's successful duck only lead to his face being slammed into the stones below by a sudden recovery kick.

The pathway cracked slightly as he tried to push back and away from his attacker. He needed to gain some distance, if he could do that he could weaken her with his arsenal of dust laced knives. With that thought, he blocked a powerful kick to his chest by crossing his blades and let himself skid backward toward the wall.

His boots quickly slid to a stop and he charged forward. Destiny responded in kind and charged him as well, just before the two collided she kicked off the stone and made a kick for his head. Mordant leaned back and fell to his knees, his momentum carried him under her move and let him slide further down the pathway. He quickly stumbled to his feet and sprinted toward the center staircase.

Mordant quickly made it to the podium at the center, and his curious nature made him glance at the artifact just to see what it was. It was a longsword. The black steal gleamed under the yellow light of the flaming orb above, and it's handle was a blazing orange color. Within its flame-like design was a red jewel, and further down the wrapped handle was a black and orange encrusted pommel.

Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the handle and pulled the sword from the stone podium. Immediately, the orb above pulsed with energy and crashed downward. Its bright fiery light flowed into the red gem within the sword's hilt. The once illuminated room was now bathed in darkness, and for a few seconds, Mordant couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear Destiny either. That was worrisome.

Suddenly, the blade in his hands erupted in yellow flames and completely engulfed its black steel. The handle stayed cool in his hand, but the brightness of the flaming sword lit up the room again.

"You shouldn't trust everything you find." Destiny spoke from behind him again.

This time, Mordant spun on his heel and swung the flaming sword. Destiny jumped from her spot on the vacant podium and dodged the swing easily. However, the sword in his hands sent a powerful surge of yellow energy out of its flaming blade that crashed against the opposite walls. The entire temple shook, causing stones from above to crumble and fall.

"Oh, shi-" Mordant was cut off by another rumble from above and a larger stone broke free from the ceiling and plummeted downward. As he looked up, Destiny took that chance to slide into Mordant's guard and slam a kick into the underside of his sword's pommel. He instantly lost grip on the cool blade and the weapon was sent hurtling toward the falling stone.

The black steel pierced the rock easily, and it's now uncontrolled fire burst from the hardened steel and coursed through the cracking stone.

***BOOM!***

Shards of flaming rock showered the entire room just as a powerful shockwave was released from the implosion. Destiny and Mordant were sent tumbling into the sands below. The sudden pressure on the loose sand caused the room's trap to trigger and the rest of the ceiling began to crumble away.

The sand where they both stood began to fall away into a somewhat deep pit, causing them to lose their footing and begin helplessly sliding with the swirling sands. The falling rocks from above fell like rain, crashing into the remaining stone path and turning it all into falling rubble.

"Damn it, what am I supposed to do? Leap off the falling stones?" Mordant asked himself sarcastically.

He began actually considering the crazy idea, but his plans were cut short when he made out Destiny's voice from within the clutter of crashing stones.

"Bring back the king of beasts, descend now…PULSATONIC!" Destiny called out as she read from a floating white book in front of herself. The sand around her swirled with energy as the floor began to collapse in on itself.

Suddenly, a blinding pillar of golden light shot up from the ground beside her and pushed through the collapsing ceiling, the pulsing glow crashed against the dome above and shown through into the clouds. A shadow plummeted from within the beam and easily passed through the dome, somehow keeping it completely intact and unbroken. The falling figure crashed forcefully through the roof of the temple and slammed into the ground causing the surrounding sands to disperse from impact.

Immediately, the ground collapsed from beneath Destiny and the shadow beside her. The two beings fell down into the darkness. Mordant's view of them disappeared before he could make out what the shadow was, but soon after they fell he followed downward as the sand fell from beneath his feet.

He felt weightless for a few seconds before something cold and metallic slammed into his gut. The guy wrenched forward from the sudden pain and realized he wasn't falling anymore. Something was grabbing hold of his coat as he felt himself being lifted up.

Mordant's gaze met the predatory glare of a metallic lion, its glowing red eyes shown against his as he tried to rear back in fear. He could see that the lion was made entirely of gold and black metallic panels. The sound of gears turning and panels shifting filled his ears as the beast leaped off the large stone it landed on. The feline machine made quick work of climbing the larger falling rubble and landed swiftly on the still standing stone staircase in the center.

"That's a good girl." Destiny purred from her seated position on Pulsatonic's back. She ran a hand over its bladed gold and black mane and patted its head. "Now…roar." She commanded just as Mordant was placed down in front of them.

More gears shifted as the lion planted its hind legs against the ground and opened its maw. Behind its sharpened, reflective teeth was a deep tunnel basked in red light. In an instant, Mordant lost all hearing as the entire stadium shook forcefully. A deep, vibrating force sounded out of the lion's mouth as it sent a sonic-like continuous shockwave forward completely surrounding the poor teen in pounding vibrations. The pitch of the roar was almost like a dubstep beat drop, but it was anything but harmless.

Mordant fell to his knees and sealed his palms against his ears, saving them from rupturing. The rest of the standing temple collapsed under the new vibrations, and everything came crashing down.

Before he knew it, everything went quiet except for a sharp ringing still present in his ears. He opened his eyes to see what happened and looked around. The stands were cheering, the light from the sun could be seen again, and Destiny stood beside Pulsatonic in front of him.

"HOLY MOTHER OF ANYTHING AWESOME! Destiny Echols has claimed victory!" Ashton announced loudly, shocking Mordant into realization.

Destiny fixed her glasses and patted Pulsatonic once more before the beast disintegrated into wisps of golden light. She helped Mordant to his feet but turned away from his thank you, quickly making her way off the now lowered stones and out of the arena.

Mordant rubbed the back of his neck before leaving as well.

Ashton looked down to read the next combatants' names from the list in front of him as the arena below began to shift into a new biome. "Alrighty then! Next up we have a true clash of titans here in the Vale's Champion tournament! In the first corner, we have a newcomer who was successful in the first round, but I wonder how he'll handle his challenging second match? Ladies and gentlemen, the hammer-wielding smash master, GREEN TSUKAYOSHI!

Green walked into the stadium, Zephyr Magna in hand. He wasn't writing anymore – if the rounds he'd just witnessed were anything to go by, this competition's contestants were highly skilled. He needed to focus.

"And his opponent, another heavy hitter hailing from Vale's very own Beacon Academy, please welcome YANG XIAO LONG!"

The aforementioned confident blonde fighter jogged onto the field, hands raised as the crowd applauded her entrance. A wide, toothy grin covered her face, and it was clear Yang lived for this kind of moment. Crowd roaring, a brand-new punching bag to beat on in the ring… oh, yeah. This was going to be fun.

Green spun his hammer in one hand before crouching in a kung-fu like pose, one leg extended forward and the other bent beneath him with his weapon held parallel to the ground. Yang simply pounded her steel-clad fists together, creating a blast of air that was tangible even across the field. The two combatants stared each other down, each entering into the kind of enhanced-focus state that comes before an intense battle. Their peripheral vision became a blurry distraction, the colorful crowd, cheers and screams, Ashton's announcements all fading to a dull hum as the whole world narrowed down to just the two of them.

Faintly, Ashton's countdown was evident in Green's mind. "Three… Two… One…" Every muscle in his body coiled like a spring. This was it, no going back now. "Start!"

Yang broke into an immediate sprint, rushing toward her opponent with reckless abandon. The field around them had changed shape once more, thanks to the gleeful meddling of a certain cheerful commentator. The newest biome featured a landscape constructed of gray concrete cubes, each about a meter in length, width and height. The ground was composed of stacks and stacks of them, several even floating in the air above the combatants. Ashton's latest creation appeared to be… a Minecraft arena?

Green took in his new environment and quickly determined that he'd be able to gain no advantage from this field. He'd have to win this with nothing but good old-fashioned physical force. Zephyr Magna took another spin in his grasp, rounds from his sleeves clicking smoothly into the loading chamber of the weapon's handle. He looked around for his opponent, checking left, right, in front of and behind him before he noticed a shadow growing larger on the ground around him. "Crap!" he exclaimed, throwing himself backward.

Yang's fist slammed into the ground directly where Green had been an instant ago, causing a spiderweb of cracks to radiate out from the center of the impact. The blonde brawler didn't miss a beat, flipping smoothly forward to engage her opponent with a series of powerful punches. Green ducked backwards, narrowly avoiding and deflecting Yang's shotgun-fueled blows before spinning and bringing down his hammer on the girl's right hand.

Yang glanced at him, smirking. "You know I have two of these things, right?" she asked as she slammed her left fist into him, firing another shotgun round off as she did so. Green was sent flying with an indignant shout, skidding to a halt before he regained his footing.

"Alright, now we're talkin'!" she shouted merrily, launching a flurry of concussive rounds from her weapons. Green rolled behind a cube to his left, leaving a smoking crater in his place. He switched his weapon to its rifle form, sitting straight upright with his back against the smooth gray stone.

Green lifted his rifle up over the top edge of his cover, blind-firing as green muzzle flashes bursted from his rifle's twin barrels. Yang returned in kind, dodging and swerving to avoid the unpredictable explosive rounds fired by the green-haired warrior's weapon. He checked his aura levels on the floating orb at the edge of the ring; upper yellow, by the looks of it. Yang's aura had sustained minimal damage, still in the lower green area.

Green looked around, before his eyes settled on a cube floating above him. He leapt up, catching the edge with one hand before hoisting himself on top. Yang appeared not to notice. "Hey!" he shouted. "Would you, by any chance, be willing to surrender immediately to my obvious superiority?"

"Says the one cowering behind a cube!" Yang retorted. "Not a snowball's chance in Death Valley!" She charged forward with a yell, smashing the cube where Green had just been. Jagged stone fragments clattered to the ground around her, littering the area with rubble. She looked around, confused. "Hey, where'd you…" She looked up just as Green swooped down on her, hammer raised for a powerful strike. "…go?" The emerald fighter's hammer slammed into Yang's torso, flinging her bodily against the concrete with a dynamic crash. Her aura dropped down to the yellow section of the meter.

Green rolled over and used his hammer to lean on as he hoisted himself to his feet, panting as he caught his breath. He glanced at the fallen Yang, who stirred as he looked on. Her hair had taken on a soft yellow glow at the tips, and she got up on one knee with a grunt. She flashed Green with a toothy grin. "Nice hit."

Without warning the blonde brawler sprang toward her opponent with her fist cocked back. Green had almost no chance to react, barely having time to bring up his hammer between Yang's fist and his own person. Still, the force her punch impacted with was unreal; as the resulting shockwave raced outward from the middle of the arena, carrying bits and pieces of debris with it, even the hyper-durable transparent viewing panes lining the colosseum flexed very slightly beneath its power.

Green staggered back, gasping for breath. His aura was still just barely above the red, which was surprising considering the blow he'd just endured. But, as he looked down, he saw the reason why.

Zephyr Magna, his beloved dual-ended hammer, had snapped in half under the force of Yang's attack. A clean break, right at the middle of the handle, left him with what was basically two shorter, one-handed hammers. He held the broken remnants of his weapon in his arms, hands shaking slowly. He looked up at Yang, slowly gripping one half of Zephyr Magna in each hand. Green's eyes gleamed with new resolve as he faced down his opponent.

He dashed forward with his hammers held out to the sides. Yang brought her fists up in time to block his first hit from the right, then ducked beneath his swing from the left. "That punch was way more powerful than your first hit earlier." Green punctuated his statement with a double swing at Yang's midsection, which she parried. "If I had to guess, I'd say you absorbed the energy from my attack to fuel your own."

"Heck of a Semblance, isn't it?" Yang grinned as her hair grew brighter and brighter with every blow. "How will you win if your hits only make me stronger?" Hammer met fist as the two fighters locked their weapons in a temporary stalemate. Yang met Green's gaze. "Hmm? Got a plan?"

"There's a pretty simple solution, really. All I have to do is KO you in one hit." Green slammed his head forward into Yang's forehead, breaking their stalemate. He turned tail and ran backward, kicking off a stack of concrete cubes to grab a ledge above him. Yang aimed a blast from Ember Celica in his direction, taking a corner off a block near his hand. "Your Semblance is pretty potent, but I'd say I've got you beat on this occasion." Green talked as he climbed. "Mine allows me to change my density for just an instant. I can reduce my density to the point of intangibility, like I did when I beat Zack earlier."

"Which will help you here how?" Yang asked as she fired a powerful double blast at him. Green jumped off the cube he was on, crossing his hammers and catching the impact on them. He was propelled up even further; now he was above the whole arena, with Yang directly below him. "Well, I can also increase my density so I'm as heavy as, say, a building." He grinned, crossing his arms and folding his legs in as if he were doing a cannonball at the pool.

"Have you ever had a building dropped on you before?" He queried. Yang stared up at him, her grin disappearing as she realized what was about to happen.

Green plummeted to the earth like a meteor, hurtling straight toward Yang. The entire stadium shook with a thunderous boom before settling. A huge cloud of gray dust ballooned outward from the point of impact, filling the air and obscuring visibility. As the smoke cleared to reveal a pile of rubble and the two exhausted fighters, hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to look at the aura meters.

The emerald warrior's aura was still in the yellow by just barely a sliver, whereas Yang's aura had dropped down to red beneath his onslaught. Green's eyes took in this information, then he exhaled deeply and laid his head back down on the rocks. He'd done it.

* * *

**Boom! What did you think? I'd like to thank my good friend 'Goen Miyamoto' for writing his OC's fight scene: Green vs Yang. He did an amazing job, and even came up with an interesting arena to fight in. So, I applaud him for doing that for me. He did want to do it after all from the beginning. Anyway, two fights down…two more to go. Then, the break chapter will be inserted and the next step of the tournament will be the quarter-finals (if that's the right term). I hope you enjoyed yourselves, please let me know what you think. **_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…seriously, I'd love to see what you guys think of these fight scenes so leave a review if you can. Have a good one guys!**

**Cya XD**


	47. Hero of the other Remnant

**Roar**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 47: Hero of the other Remnant

**3rd Person**

"Wow…" Ashton gaped in awe, "I was _NOT_ expecting that. Did you see _that_?!" He gawked, staring down at the destroyed Minecraft arena below.

"Yes."

"Oh come on Ozpin, I know you're _'all seeing'_ and everything, but did you seriously see that coming? He could change his _DENSITY!_" The pink man exclaimed, whirling around and staring at the headmaster.

He merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Density!" Ashton emphasized.

"He does have a point. Miss Xiao Long has proven to be undefeated in the arena." Glynda backed the eccentric man's words up with a well-known fact.

"Some people are intriguing, yes." Ozpin replied casually, then took a sip of his coffee.

"You know what. Never mind. It was awesome, we'll leave it at that." Ashton surrendered to the Coffee Supreme and turned around to address the crowd again. "Two fights left everyone! Can you believe it?!" He yelled out, earning exactly what he wanted to hear."

A crowd going wild.

"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about! Now, let's get this little arena cleaned up a bit and move on to the final 4!" With those simple words spoken, Glynda selected a new arena and let the previous one reset.

The cubes below all dissolved in seconds and their dust remains began to flatten, dispersed across the vibrating panels. Soon after the ground lay flat, the panels changed frequency and a stone floor rose from the ground.

Literally.

The smooth stones spanned across the entire arena floor. They were smooth, and chiseled with swirling designs.

"Ah, quite the lovely choice Glynda dear. It's simple. I'm a man of simple taste-"

"No, you're a man of shiny objects and misplaced idolization." Glynda interrupted, shooting the man down yet again. She really had no idea what the numbers on the arena list meant. All she knew was that she's been picking them at random for this entire tournament.

"PLEASE WELCOME TO THE STAGE!" Ashton began, cheering himself up with the cheers of the crowd. Not like he'd ever be down on himself, oh no, he's the kind of guy to never give up. Those guys are rare these days. "I never get used to saying this, but he's the illusive combatant, _the_ hero of the everyday, _THE_ powerhouse in a cloak, _he's_ the mysterious guy everyone important has figured out by now! And his opponent, the brutal blood thirsty chainman himself, he's LOCKJAW!" Ashton announced, introducing the next match as usual.

True to his Ashton's words, Dante stepped out of his tunnel, his white cloak dramatically flared in the wind as his white bangs blew around in his face in front of his white mask. His hood shaded his blue eyes from view, which held resolve and determination.

"Looks like I found you. Now, time to _end_ you." The teen spoke under his breath. As the words left his mouth, his weapon seemingly melted into existence and hooked itself onto his waste. The unusually large sheath was black and white, and inside its embrace sat his glistening white longsword.

Contrary to Dante's entrance, Lockjaw stepped out of his tunnel looking cocky and menacing. He dragged his chainsaw behind him as if it were heavy, scraping the stone with its serrated edge. His blood red eyes looked across the flat arena and toward his opponent, but something in his gaze faltered. It was only for a moment, but a look of recognition fell into the pools of red within his stare.

Dante smirked beneath his mask and took a stance, keeping his feet shoulder-length apart and resting his hand on the handle of his longsword. He couldn't help himself but to lean forward, ready to kick off the ground and surge forward at dark speeds.

"Oh, this looks good. Here we go! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! IT HAS BEGUN!" Ashton bellowed, immediately breaking into some sort of epic rhythm set within the stars.

Lockjaw's chain rattled as he charged forward with heavy steps, his steel boots clanging against the smooth stone floor as he dragged his chainsaw against it. Nothing could stop a wide toothy grin from forming beneath his crazed eyes, oh no, he'd finally found a worthy match.

Dante surged forward in a blur of darkness, his ability to dark-step was unrivaled. Only a few have ever been able to keep up with him, that being a certain reaper and a few others. He easily cleared the length of the arena in seconds and drew his blade. His black shoes skidded to a forceful stop as the shining steel of his sword stopped within a millimeter of Lockjaw's neck. The tall man was frozen in place by the white haired teen somehow within his guard.

"Finally, I've found you. I'd recommend that you run after this match, but I'm not really feeling generous." Dante spoke quietly, tightening the grip on his handle. "I've got good news though, there's no need to wonder where you're god is. Because he's right _here_…" Dante gestured to himself and his gaze turned deathly cold, "…and he's fresh out of mercy."

Lockjaw's smile widened as he pushed forward, pressing Dante's blade into his skin and drawing blood.

"If you're so high and mighty, then why don't you just kill me? Right here, right now."

Dante's eyes looked around for a few seconds before returning to the beast in front of him, "That wouldn't be very wise, now would it? How 'bout later? You free?"

With those words, Dante withdrew his blade and slashed forward, cleaving a wide arc straight across Lockjaw's chest. Lockjaw forced himself backward, saving his chin from being severed and falling onto his hand. He flipped against the stone and landed back on his feet a good distance away.

"Not if I kill you first!" Lockjaw growled as he revved his buster sword and released a bestial roar. The ground shook as he surged forward, squeezing down on the trigger in his handle and sharpened its serrated edge with hardened ice.

Dante accepted the challenge and stood his ground, sword drawn and waiting.

Lockjaw grinned sadistically as he swung his roaring blade, intent on taking the teen's head off by cleaving through his neck. Dante ducked the swing easily and stepped around his large charging form, letting the man storm right past him and miss his attack entirely.

Grunting, Lockjaw spun around and slammed his buster sword into the ground. The roaring of its rotating edge ate chunks out of the stone floor and hurled them with speed toward Dante's body. The teen smirked and stepped backward, with lightning fast slashes, he flipped through the air and shattered the debris flying toward him.

The annoyed brute stopped his useless attack and charged while Dante was sill landing on the ground, only for the teen to flip in the air and plant both shoes into his face. Growling in anger, Lockjaw bit back the throbbing pain and slammed his head forward, throwing Dante into the closest wall.

He then dug his steel boots into the stones below and charged forward, his steps cracking the ground and causing the whole coliseum to vibrate. Lockjaw drove his blade into the wall and carved it straight through where Dante was.

Being quick to his feet, Dante pushed off the wall just in time to save his torso from being severed and leaped over the strike. He immediately pushed off the wall and slammed the hilt of his blade into Lockjaw's gut, throwing the heavy sadistic man backward.

Lockjaw skidded to a stop and sent sparks flying. His red eyes flaring as he grinned sadistically again. The long black hair strewn in front of his face shadowed out the details and gave him a menacing appearance.

"Come on. Is that all you've got? I thought you wanted to kill me?" Lockjaw cackled, letting the chain over his shoulder fall and clatter to the ground. His vice grip held one end of the gleaming metal and his other wielded the still roaring buster sword.

"Maybe I should stop holding back." Dante admitted, watching as the beast before him began to emanate a much darker energy than before.

Lockjaw grunted as he swung his chain, sending it whipping through the air. Dante through himself to the side and just barely dodged the flying metal. It passed dangerously close to his cheek and somehow slashed through the skin slightly as it surged through.

"Serrated edged, wasn't expecting that." Dante spoke as he regained his footing and dodged another sweeping swing of Lockjaw's blade.

Blue eyes steeled to a certain inhuman level of resolve as Dante dug his feet into the stones and caused them to cave under the pressure. His sheath soon fell apart from his waste and his blade followed it in a similar action. The pieces wove through the air and took a new shape in Dante's hands.

Leaping into the air and positioning himself with the sun at his back, he dove downward and slammed a new massive scythe's blade into a blocking Lockjaw.

The two powerful weapons clashed in an ear ringing confrontation, sending a shocking sound wave off the walls that rattle the stands. Dante's new scythe gleamed in the air as he twirled in his spot, bringing the light weapon around and slashing across Lockjaw's chest in an instant.

Lockjaw began taking hit after hit, slash after slash, his refusal to parry or dodge was irritating. Soon, Dante backed off and looked at the aura meters. His was high in the green while his opponents was nearly red.

"Awe, why'd you stop? I was enjoying that. The blood, the sweat, the killer intent in your eyes. You're just like me, you know. A _cold…blooded…murderer._" Lockjaw began to cackle as he let his blood run. He licked his lips sickly as he tensed the muscled in his arms and gripped his chain.

In less than half a second, the chain wrapped painfully around Dante's leg and through him into the nearest wall. The embedded teen was soon yanked free from the structure and sent hurtling into the ground. Lockjaw didn't miss a beat, he slammed the young swordsman into the walls and stone floor of the stadium, crashing him brutally against every surface he can find using the momentum to increase the damage each slam would cause.

He laughed sadistically again, enjoying himself. His blood red eyes brimming with insanity as he soon through Dante into the air and lunged at his limp form with his roaring iced buster sword.

Dante's form was shaded by the sun again, but that didn't stop Lockjaw from plunging his blade straight toward the falling body's heart. His blade suddenly met something hard, and what happened next was completely unexpected. One of Dante's eyes could be seen thanks to his now broken mask. His gaze was hard, and his glare was intensifying by the second. The teen's now metal clad fists knocked away the lunging buster sword's blade and flipped him around. He used the turn to roll above the roaring blade and fall within Lockjaw's guard.

Within an instant, Dante reared back his fist and sent it slamming into the man's face as they plummeted back downward. The impact caused the loose stones in the floor to scatter, and the following wave of energy ripped up the remaining stones, throwing those into the walls as well. Dante's metal clad fist glowed with powerful aura as Lockjaw's form was sent hurtling into the panels below, his impact causing them to flex under pressure.

No sooner had Lockjaw landed, did Dante land next to him on the hardened panels, is greaves clanging against the floor as he bent down and gently placed his gauntlet's claws around Lockjaw's neck.

"Are you done yet?" Dante asked, seemingly unfazed by the pounding he took.

Lockjaw's eyes hardened, despite his aura now being in the red. "Not by a long shot."

"AND WE HAVE A WINNER!" Ashton exclaimed, suddenly down on the ground and placing a hand on Dante's shoulder. His silent gesture was understood, and the teen withdrew his hand from around his opponent's neck. Ashton smiled and immediately reappeared up in the announcer's balcony again.

"The Mysterious Guy wins!"

Lockjaw pushed himself to his feet and stumbled out the nearest tunnel. Dante's eyes never left the man's form, and soon after Lockjaw left, Dante followed.

Blue eyes scanned the tunnels and locked on to where the man escaped to. He quickly sprinted after him and skidded to a stop just before the coliseum's large doorway leading into the city of Vale.

Lockjaw stood in the center of the street, his mouth twitching and his body covered in a black mist.

"Here to finish the job?" Lockjaw spoke in a much darker tone than usual, lacing his words with venom and blood. His toothy smile seemed sharper than before as well.

"Well, I did say I'd kill you. Didn't I?" Dante asked, switching weapon forms and drawing his longsword.

"Hmmmm, but that begs the question…" Lockjaw challenged in a hiss. Suddenly his entire form was engulfed in a shadowy pitch black smoke. His red eyes gleamed with piercing crimson light that shot through the cover of mist. Dante could hear the beast roaring as it changed form, discarding its human form.

In the next moment, the mist dispersed and surged down the streets. It pushed forcefully passed Dante revealing Lockjaw.

The _real_ Lockjaw.

Two sets of predator red eyes glared deathly at the teen, each set belonging to two howling wolf heads. Their maws were foaming with black mist and its black fur was matted with blood. The two heads merged into one black wolf body, the two necks both adorning a dark red collar with chains hanging from their centers. Lockjaw's claws scraped the ground and dug into the hard street with ease, showing just how eager he was to tear Dante to shreds.

"…can you? Can you _actually_ kill _me_?" Lockjaw growled, his voice doubled and deeper, but there was an added feral tone to it.

Dante tilted his head to the side in a mock thinking pose before nodding his head, "Yeah, definitely."

If wolves can smirk, then Lockjaw just gave the most sadistic toothy grin he's ever given, "Excellent!" He growled as he charged forward, his claws scraping into the ground as he charged. Dante lunged forward as well, sprinting toward his target. Right before Lockjaw could sink his teeth into Dante's head, the teen disappeared in a dark blur and flew past the two headed wolf.

Lockjaw slowed to a stop behind Dante's crouching form. The wind blew through the streets, whistling past the quiet buildings and blowing through the two stilled combatants. Dante released a held breath, his focus wavering but that was all he needed. He sheathed his gleaming white blade at the simultaneous moment the beast collapsed behind him.

Lockjaw fell limp to the floor, his eyes bloodshot and his heart no longer pounding. And yet, he still smiled. His feral toothy grin plastered his face as the last of his life left him. Dante stood up and walked passed the corpse of the black wolf, making his way up the steps of the coliseum's entrance.

Right as he reached the top, the beast lying limp in the street behind him exploded in a torrent of black mist and dissipated into the air.

Dante sighed, his job accomplished and without casualties. Thankfully, nothing went wrong. He turned the corner and immediately noticed someone leaning against a pillar. The other teen's black bangs cast down over his eyes as the observer stared downward, his hands deep in his green sweatshirt's pocket.

"Xera? When did you get here?" Dante asked, wondering how much the teen saw.

"I'd like to say 'just now', but I'd be lying. What was that thing?" Xera asked, looking up at the white haired individual.

Dante pulled his hood off and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Sorry you had to see that. Lockjaw, well as you saw, wasn't human."

Xera nodded in understanding, "Then what was he?" He asked, fearing that his assumptions may be right.

"A dark entity."

The conversation grew silent for a few seconds as Xera let Dante's words linger in the air.

"_Just like Zerath. Something like that, is inside my brother. That's…extremely disturbing but this…this changes everything."_ Xera thought as he only knew of the existence of one other dark entity.

Soul-Slasher.

"Lockjaw however, thankfully, he wasn't actually that powerful. He wasn't at a high enough level to be overwhelmingly powerful, but he was still deadly enough to kill." Dante further explained, hoping to defuse the conversation.

It only made Xera's worries worse.

Soul-Slasher is a dark entity, not just any dark entity though. He's been around for centuries, killing mass numbers of humans and easily defending itself against lethal assaults. _"Just what am I up against?"_ Xera pondered.

"Well, he's gone now. I guess that's all that matters." Xera responded, not wanting to reveal any information about his brother. But he did have a question.

"Hey, umm, I do have…a question…about dark entities." Xera began.

"Hmm? What is it?" Dante asked, holding himself back from asking 'why' as well.

"This is completely hypothetical, but what if someone were to merge with a dark entity. Becoming its host for a while, let's just say, for five years. Is it possible for the two beings to separate after that much time?" Xera asked cautiously.

Dante thought about it for a little while, running through all the information he has on dark entity encounters. He was almost at a loss of possible answers, but suddenly he remembered something that happened in his past.

"Actually, there was this one account of a person merging with a dark entity. But after about a year or two, the person wanted to be himself again, so he hired a group of scientists to pry him from the darker being." Dante stated, running a hesitant hand through his white hair.

"And?" Xera prompted him to continue.

"The project caused an entire city to black out, and the man's brain was torn apart, simultaneously killing him and the dark entity." Dante ended solemnly.

Xera stilled for a second, taking in the information and processing it.

"But who's to say that it wasn't just bad luck?" Dante continued, giving a small chuckle.

Xera looked away and back toward the stadium, Ashton's voice could be heard through the walls. It sounded like the next match was about to start.

"Y-yeah, maybe it was." The guy in the green sweatshirt sighed, hoping to quell the knot in his stomach that just formed.

Dante sighed and placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, "Hey, whatever it is that's bothering you. I'm sure it'll work out." He said reassuringly before withdrawing his hand. His gaze lingered on the teen in front of him for a second before he looked away.

"You know what?" Dante broke the silence and took off his broken mask, "I have a gift for someone you know." He said, reaching out and offering the half-mask to Xera.

"Tell Skyla, The Phantom of the Cape sends his regards. I wish we could've hung out again." Dante smirked, making a dramatic bow. "She'll understand what I meant by that."

"O-okay. Sure, I can do that." Xera responded, extending his own hand and carefully taking Dante's white mask.

"Besides, I'm not even supposed to be here." Dante spoke before releasing a long sigh and standing straight up again.

Xera's eyes snapped back to the teen in confusion, "What do you mean?"

With a smirk, Dante backed away slightly and looked up, "This isn't my own universe."

Ignoring Xera's sudden look of confusion, Dante decided to leave it at that and turn away intent on leaving.

"That actually explains a lot." Xera admitted vaguely, now it was Dante's turn to look confused.

Xera smirked and waved his free hand, "Maybe I'll see you around, Dante."

Dante took a second to return the gesture and gave his own genuine smile, "Yeah, I hope so. Maybe we'll someday meet again, who knows?" He replied before turning on his heel and making his way down the steps of the coliseum, leaving Xera alone under the arch way.

There was a sudden explosion coming from deep within the structure, snapping Xera out of his thoughts and returning him back to reality. "Right. There's a fight going on." He spoke to himself as he walked off toward the cue room.

The problem with having conversations in an echoing hall is quite simple. That and it wasn't just Xera who came to investigate Dante's strange actions in the arena.

A third party sat high above on one of the upper row balconies, her form hidden within the shadows aside from her flickering wolf ears. The girl watched and heard everything about what could happen, should her plan fail, but this was a key piece of information towards the same goal. "Well I guess we have some more research to do dear sister." She sighed, letting her fingers fall and graze the cover of her white book. "Our mission has yet to end, and it's only getting more difficult."

With that the ever elusive faunus returned to the festivities, not wanting to seem out of place as many of her slowly growing "friends" were never as dim as they seemed.

* * *

"Next up! We have the purple bandit from team Sahara, a ribbon dancer of death, she's Skyla Xerious! And her opponent, the loose cannon of team Sonar, he's Sun Wukong!" Ashton announced, welcoming the next competitors to the new stage.

The previous stone floor dissolved and was replaced with a tall cylindrical tower of black stone. On opposite ends of the tower were two similarly built bridges that led to the circular platform of the structure.

Skyla walked out, sliding every chance she could get on the slick surface, and made her way to the tower. She couldn't help herself when her side of the crowd was chanting her name, happily waving back and beaming a wide smile.

Skyla Xerious was finally enjoying herself.

Opposite her entrance, Sun walked out of his own tunnel and onto the black bridge. He waved and flicked his tail, sending suave winks where ever he could to see if he could catch a girl off guard with his unrivaled glorious looks.

Let's just say he didn't consider many people his rivals. But some may have to admit, he has a nice appearance if only his attitude reflected it.

The two combatants waved to each other in their positions atop the wide central tower. Just behind them, the black bridges they once walked across began to collapse in on themselves and disappear. This left them stranded on the central tall platform, an excellent dueling arena.

Of course, there is always a catch.

"LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! START!" Ashton bellowed in a low, robotic like voice.

Skyla and Sun charged each other, weapons drawn.

"I still owe yah for that tail grab a few days ago." Sun spoke as he ran forward.

"Yeah, and I need to get back at you for stealing my ice cream!" Skyla retorted, sliding to her knees and ducking Sun's staff.

"When did I do that?!"

"I don't know!" Skyla exclaimed, spinning on her knees and slashing at Sun's legs.

The monkey-faunus jumped into the air and evaded the girl's strike, "Then why'd you say it?!"

"BECAUSE!" She responded like it was obvious, pulsing her ribbons full of aura and unleashing a flurry of whip-like lashes toward her competitor.

"Because what?" Sun responded in confusion and amusement, fending off the barrage of whips with his shot gun-chucks. He spun and twirled each gun consecutively, priming and firing each fiery blast to negate the aura stuffed ribbons.

Skyla adorned an offended look and surged her ribbons with more aura, causing them to make a wide sweep and flank the monkey-faunus, "I DON'T KNOW!"

"Then, if we think about this rationally…" Sun started distractedly as he moved back and watched the snaking lengths of cloth carefully maneuver to opposite sides of him, "…your saying I actually didn't do anything wrong."

"Well since you put it like that." Skyla giggled and crossed her arms, forcing her ribbons into a pincer attack.

Sun leapt sideways and spun himself around the dual ribbon, barely escaping the attack but taking some brief damage.

Taking a step back, Sun nearly fell over the edge. It took every agile part of monkey faunus heritage he had to hold his ground and regain his balance, "Huh, I swear this tower was bigger just a few seconds ago."

"Uhhhh…" Skyla filled the silence with her voice before pointing toward a glowing white fire. It was slowly moving around the surface of the cylindrical tower, about a foot from the edge.

"It looks like it's carving out an inner circle." The girl continued.

"Yah think!" Sun finished, leaping forward just as the outer rim dropped and shattered against the ground below.

"THIS IS SPARTA!"

He looked forward to see the sole of Skyla's shoe.

The next thing he noticed was his significant loss of gravity.

And finally…

…he fell.

Quite gracefully might I add.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Sun yelled, turning himself around and flailing his arms as he plummeted. Just before he slammed into the ground below, something soft wrapped around his waist and hoisted him back up.

Before he knew it, he was back up and looking at a giggling Skyla. Her ribbons were tightly wrapped around his frame.

"Sorry, I just always wanted to do that." She spoke between laughs, barely able to keep him in her ribbon's grasp.

"Well, now that you've had your laugh. Can we get back to fighting?" Sun pondered.

Skyla looked up and hummed in thought, "I suppose."

With those words, the ribbons around Sun's waist tightened into a vice grip and squeezed the aura right out of him.

"T-this…is-s…..n-not-t…..w-what….I-I…m-me-eant!" Sun stuttered out as he began to lose his grasp on consciousness.

Skyla shrugged and threw him over her shoulder.

Literally.

Purple ribbons flexed and flung Sun's limp form across the rest of the tower and sent him plummeting down at the other side.

"So…" Sun breathed finally as he fell, "…not…" He had the time to close his eyes and accept defeat, "…fair." He sighed as he struck rock bottom.

"AND THE WINNER IS SKYLA XERIOUS!" Ashton exclaimed through the mic, his smooth laughter barely contained. The announcement caused the entire coliseum to shake under the cheers of the crowd. Skyla waved and basked in the glow of glory as she stood alone atop the exact center of the remaining cylindrical tower.

There was literally no more room left.

* * *

**Ah Skyla, she never ceases to amaze me with how much fun I can have while writing in her personality.**

**If you haven't noticed by now, I've released a new fic. It is a little side project of mine that I intend to see through to the end. It's based off of Sword Art Online and will contain a lot of action and adventure, with a little romance as well. If you're into that kind of thing, I urge you to check it out.**

**Sword Art Online: Desert Army**

**Now, enough with the information breaking. This was the end to the second bracket, meaning there are 7 total fights left. Yeah, we're getting pretty close…almost there actually. I can't wait to finally introduce you guys to the **_**main**_** antagonist of this story. He'll be quite interesting to write. With that said, most of these tourney OCs will disappear. Oh but don't worry, evil OCs will take their place. I have plans to bring in some new reinforcing members of the White Fang, mainly just a Dingo and a Falcon actually. But rest assured, this will be **_**awesome**_**!**

**Oh, and about that quote…if you managed to catch it.**

**Probably one of my top favorite quotes of all time: "I've got good news. You see, there's no need to wonder where you're god is. Because he's right **_**here**_**…and he's fresh out of mercy." - Kirito from SWEabridged's SAO Abridged**

_**Favorite**_**…**_**Follow**_**…**_**REVIEW**_**…have a good one guys!**

**Cya :D**


	48. Operation Juniper

**And so it continues.**

**Oh, a bit of a fluff warning might be needed here. Someone may or may not fall in love in this chapter, or maybe more than just that one. Who knows, the future is always adjustable. Xera x Blake can't be the only pairing, can it?**

**Also, there are quite a bit of POVs in this one. Just as a heads up.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 48: Operation Juniper

**3rd Person**

Xera slumped down onto his dorm room bed and placed his sleeved arm over his eyes.

"No day to rest up this time, huh?" He let out a long, drawn out breath, "This sucks, I was hoping to sleep for a while too."

In short, he was exhausted. Actually, he was fairly sore too. Especially in his arms and legs, that last fight was pretty stressful on the body.

With the events that have taken place so far, he's been fighting nonstop for the past three days. The first day of the tournament was pretty rough with that fight against Riggs and experiencing his semblance for the first time.

Ah, his semblance.

"_Why did I get stuck with such a weird semblance?"_ Xera asked himself as he remembered the first time he used it. He did feel thankful for its adjustability in combat though, that's a huge plus.

After maneuvering around the battle field with Blake's semblance, he found out how to activate it and where to find it.

But it wasn't that simple.

Blake's was easy to use but for some reason he could tell that it felt weak, he couldn't even use it for the extent of the battle. It was the bare bones of her Shadow semblance. And as for the reason why he could use it, he wasn't positive on. In fact, he had no clue why he could use any of those semblances.

Ruby's speed, he can only do that for at most ten to fifteen seconds; that's about it.

Weiss's was the most difficult to conjure up.

That glyph he used, that wasn't even built correctly and was actually fairly weak. He's felt Weiss's glyphs before, well more like seen them. And they seem much stronger than what he was able to create. If Weiss were to build the foundation of that gravity glyph, it probably would've been much more potent in power and effect.

Summing everything up, that's the extent of the semblances he's found access to.

"_Maybe there's a limit. What if I can only use those three right now and no more? Can I switch one out?"_ He thought, running through possible explanations. He couldn't exactly feel the presence of anyone else right now. And to top it off, he couldn't even use the ones he had properly at the moment. Most likely, he'd need to ask for help on how to better use the abilities. Only the semblance owners would know what to do. But that still begs the question, can he switch them out?

Now that I think about it. Deception was switched out at some point. How then, how did I do that? And where did I get my first semblance from anyway?

Who owns the Deception semblance?

There was no way he could find an answer to that question now. That was impossible. Maybe it was just someone he knew in his past, he didn't know who though.

Let's just focus on testing the waters for right now. He let out another sigh and removed his arm from over his eyes. _"I can always try and access a fourth."_

Sitting up, he thought back to the moments in his fights. How he was able to access a semblance. At the time, he wasn't really thinking. It was all just instinct. Now though, it was difficult to replicate that same feeling.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused.

He could feel his aura flowing freely through his body.

The feint presence of a shadow lurked within his heart. Alongside that was a fluttering rose petal, and the cool steel of an ice shard.

Of course, they weren't physical. But he could feel the presence of a subtle link to the people in question.

Now, to add a fourth.

Focusing harder and straining his mind, he brought himself to picture the face of Pyrrha. Maybe he could use her polarity. That would be a _huge_ advantage for his boomerangs.

…

Slowly, her face began to appear in his mind. Like a blurry image coming into focus.

…

"_Huh, maybe I can actually-"_

Right before the image clarified, everything when black.

Then a tugging pain followed the blackness, almost as if something was tearing at his mind and heart.

A dull thud echoed in the once silent room as Xera's body hunched forward and he clutched at his head. His eyes flashed through an entire sequence of colors before he slammed them shut and arched his back. The pain in his chest was sharp, like a steel blade piercing his heart.

He lay there, motionless with his tongue between his teeth, refusing to let out any sounds of agony.

Seconds passed, and the pain began to subside.

Gradually, he rolled around and eventually sprawled himself onto his back. His hands that were clutching his head slowly loosened as the throbbing came to a stop.

Everything felt natural again, almost as if nothing happened.

Granted his heart was beating quicker than normal, and his breathing was slightly ragged. There wasn't actually any residual pain or aches, just nothing.

Sitting up, he blinked a few times before letting out a held breath.

"That sucked." He made a mental note to never try that again.

Nothing was for certain, but maybe he could figure out how to switch out Weiss's in favor of Rex's or hopefully Pyrrha's. Or even Skyla's. That would probably be the best since trying to maintain four was a less desirable experience. And he had no idea how to work with glyphs in the first place.

He wouldn't say her semblance was bad. No, it was anything but useless. But to him, without practice or training, he had absolutely no idea what he was doing with it.

A thought occurred to him as he stood up and threw himself back into the confines of his bed, _"Wait, what is Skyla's semblance anyway?"_

The thought stuck for a while before he considered that maybe she just didn't need to use it just yet. What if using it took a lot of aura out of her? Either way, this takes her off the list of possible semblance testing.

He still didn't even know if he could switch them out yet. He's never tried. He doesn't know _how_ to try.

"_Yang's semblance would be cool. Pair that with my own fire, maybe something cool will come out of that."_ Xera considered that possibility as well, but began getting paranoid at the thought of what could follow over exertion.

Then again, maybe that much power could be a bad idea.

If Blake's semblance paired with Ruby's in the same day tired him out and strained his body, imagine what _that_ would do to his aura and body.

Yang is literally a tank. Like an actual RPG damage absorbing punching bag, that can punch back. There was no way Xera could handle that girl's semblance…probably.

Well, only one way to find out. He'll have to try that later at some point just to test it.

Anyway, that concludes what was only the first day.

Xera's day of break was spent fighting Grimm after a night of no sleep, with a complete stranger. Not to mention the long hike up a mountain. And that run in with his brother. Then there was the trip back, less enemies but still a long walk. Especially the climb back up the Beacon Cliffside and into the academy.

And, of course, the next day of the tournament happened. He woke up to a faunus in his bed and only fifteen minutes left until sign-in ended. That sucked.

He even had to slice a portion of his aura reserves in favor of using Ruby's semblance as a small kick starter for the morning.

"_Damn, that Rideat can fight. Took a little more effort than expected, but in the end I still had to rely on my semblance to take him down."_ Xera shifted slightly in his bed and ran his free hand through his hair. There were still a few frost crystals in his hair from that point blank attack.

"_I wonder just what I need to do in order to access someone's semblance."_

The phoenix was pulled from his thoughts as the door to his team's dorm room flew opened and slammed forcefully into the wall's door stopper.

He didn't even flinch, there's only one person who does that on a regular basis.

"HIYA Xera. I'm gonna need to borrow the room for like, I don't know, maybe an hour or three." Skyla's light voice came from where the doorway was located.

Xera gently sat up, a little groggily, and let his gaze fall on his partner.

The girl at the door had a wide smile gracing her face and eyes sparkling in the evening glow from the window.

The average man would lock up in fear after two seconds of staring.

Luckily, Xera has already built up enough of a tolerance to consider it an everyday thing. Sighing, he took a second to look around, re-memorize where everything was in the room.

Four beds spanned across the wall opposite the door, each one spaced apart at even intervals except for the center two. Those two had a wider gap in favor of the window and a medium sized desk.

On Xera's side of the room, opposite his bed and against the wall sat Rex's and his dresser. Over on the other side of the door was the girl's dresser.

Apparently that piece of furniture was a sacred zone because Rex once walked a little _too_ close to it one day and the girls double teamed him in an instant. Knocking the poor guy out in the process.

Took all three of them to lift him and carry him to his bed across the room.

Lastly was the bathroom door that sat on the girl's side of the room, closer to the dresser than Allix's bed.

The four beds in the dorm were all slowly being customized to fit each teammate's habits and personality. Xera's was simple with a storage area beneath the bed for weapon parts and materials; plus ammunition.

Rex's had his guitar case beneath it, a few stray clothes around his bed's floor, and his own storage area. Atop his bed were a few extra blankets and pillows.

Skyla had what looked like a cluster of boxes under her bed with who knows what inside them. Atop her bed were a few stuffed animals and an extra pillow. He preferred not to stare at the animals on her bed for too long, despite how fluffy they looked. Especially that bear, I think it has a name too.

Allix's bed was probably the most fitting for the girl. She had a long, two-shelf book case beneath her bed that Xera and her store their books in. Next to that is a large compartment for arrow parts and dust canisters.

"Oi, Xera. Why you staring at my bed?"

Xera flinched back and landed onto his soft bed at the sudden sight of Skyla's face directly in front of his own.

"Just memorizing where everything is, it's a safety precaution." He explained as he sat back up, causing Skyla to bounce back over to the doorway.

Skyla leaned against the doorframe and turned toward me again, "A safety precaution? What for?"

Xera got to his feet and gave her an indifferent look, "Nothing too dangerous, don't worry about it."

She stared/glared at him for a few seconds before letting a smile grace her features, "Okay. Well I pulled Jauney from Pyrrha's room and I plan to hold him against his will here for a bit."

No surprise there. Xera _did_ ask her to cheer the poor guy up a bit, but he had no idea what her plans were to do such a task.

He tried not to think about it too much.

"Alright, I'll just go find another place to relax." He said, deciding on doing some semblance testing sometime after the tournament. Now just wasn't a good time. But he seriously needed Deception back. He was most comfortable using that ability, but he needed it for another reason entirely. But, sticking around in the presence of a purple typhoon wasn't an ideal option. He actually did have somewhere to be at the moment.

Xera sighed as he walked across the room and out the door, passing a rather depressed Jaune on the way down the hallway. He had a downcast gaze, his clothes were wrinkly and his stance had no balance what so ever.

Poke his shoulder, and he'll probably topple over like a lazily balanced broom.

Well, only the best can bring this guy's worried world shattering to the ground. Skyla Xerious at his service.

"Good luck man." Xera said, patting the poor soul on the shoulder before moving past him.

He heard the brief yelp from Jaune as Skyla pulled him into the room and slammed the door closed a moment later. The sound brought a small, yet pleasant smile to his face. Hopefully his plan works out.

Walking down the corridors and through the lounge room, he stepped down the stairs and made his way down the main halls. His objective, the medical wing of Beacon Academy.

He briefly acknowledged Rex walking the opposite direction with Ren and Nora following behind him. _"Good man, he'll probably just take them for a walk or something."_ Xera thought briefly as he passed by them. He gave each person a friendly nod before continuing on.

The teen kept walking until he reached the medical rooms. One of these contains a competitor who was still recovering from her earlier match in today's bracket.

Pyrrha Nikos.

Xera stepped down the hallway and finally approached her room. Whatever Zerath did to her in the arena, whatever dust or semblance he used, it took a lot out of the girl. So, hopefully that will change…and soon.

The phoenix peaked into the doorway and noticed the guest of honor already inside, along with her temporary doctor. Pyrrha lay unmoving on the bed, and in the center of the room, stood Destiny in her usual clothes that he's seen her in at the tournament.

He pulled the conscious members of team JNPR out of the room in hopes that Destiny could in fact help Pyrrha's recovery. She mentioned it to Xera once the second bracket ended that she could possibly speed up her recuperation process.

Destiny's done nothing to break Xera's trust, so he's betting it all on whatever she does next for his friend.

Xera moved away from the door and out of view before propping himself against the wall opposite the door and crossing his arms. It's time to wait and see what happens, and of course hope for the best.

Actually, maybe he should track down a nurse just in case.

Luckily, he knew exactly who to find.

* * *

**Destiny's POV**

"Shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

I assured myself as I stepped forward and stood beside Pyrrha's hospital bed. Her breathing was shallow, and she had a light sheen of sweat coating her face and neck. The beating of her heart has yet to drop to a steady pace, and her aura for some reason wasn't regenerating at a healthy percentage.

So that left only one option.

Something was blocking it.

I'm going to break that down.

Taking a deep breath, I gently laid my hands on the fighter's arm closest to me. With as much care as I could, I let my aura flow forward in an attempt to find whatever it was that was blocking Pyrrha's aura reserves.

I closed my eyes and focused all my attention on the flow of my energy. I felt it course slowly through the girl's body, searching for disruption within her. If it ran into resistance, then that's where the problem was.

"_What happened to a few minutes?" _My sister's voice spoke out within me.

"It was a miscalculation, now shush."

"_Awe, you can work and talk. Come on, we still need to talk about what we plan to do in the next fight."_ She retorted.

I spent a few more seconds on focusing on my aura but decided that she was right. We ran into a small snag earlier, but from what I've seen, Zerath's semblance was figured out.

"Fine. First we need to make sure we can even fight him in the first place." I said, letting my aura go on auto pilot.

Fate hummed in thought for a few moments before speaking up, _"Why don't we just force Ashton to rig the matchups?"_

It could work, but I doubt he puts any actual thought into matching fighters up. "He probably doesn't even plan it. It's all on the spot, I guarantee it."

"_Then that just makes it easier."_

True, since he doesn't plan it we can easily request a fight against Zerath. But if it doesn't work out, we'll just have to fight our way into the finals and face him in the end. "I doubt that man will lose to anyone, so it's a high probability he'll make it to the final two."

"_Now that you mention it, he has overwhelming power in his strength and fighting style. Not to mention his unbeatable semblance."_

"Actually, that girl Anna beat it. If only for a second." But from what I saw, she was able to break whatever forced hold Zerath's semblance had on her for just enough time to get an attack in.

"_Good point. How much you wanna bet we can make him slip up if we keep switching between the two of us in battle?"_

That's exactly what I was just thinking. His semblance probably locks only a certain aura signature or other semblance and disrupts it. That alone takes focus and he can't take his eyes off that person. However, what would happen if that signature were to suddenly switch on him? Most likely, that'll break his disruption.

But for how long?

"_That's plenty of time to kick his ass."_

"Don't get cocky, it might not even work." I argued, but the possible method was a decent strategy against a guy like that.

"_Well, if our strategy fails. You're a mage, Destiny. You rely on summons to fight for you. Granted you are pretty good in hand-to-hand combat, well foot-to-face to be exact. If push comes to shove, switch out with me. I should be able to take him head-on with my weapons."_ Fate's voice suddenly took on a more caring tone, placing a backup plan into play just in case.

I nodded my head, figuring there was nothing else to be said as I focused back onto the girl lying on the bed.

"_Besides, if you got hurt. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."_

Fate's words brought a small smile to my face, "I feel the same way. So be careful."

"_You know me. I got this!"_

Suddenly, my flow of aura slammed into some sort of lingering blockade. My gaze fell on the white wrappings that were tightly wound around Pyrrha's chest and lower body. That must have been where she took the most damage.

I focused on where my aura was stopped and let my senses course into it, within moments my eyes widened and I quickly receded the aura I had pulsing into the wounded girl.

"That wasn't just fire dust coating his blade!" I realized in shock.

Under the layers of searing fire, his blade itself was treated with something extra to go along with it. It's probably one of the most rare dust crystals in all of Vytal, and only one place is rumored to even have veins of the mineral.

Aura Negation Dust.

The only dust in the world to be able to pass through any aura undisturbed. It turns ordinary blades, that would usually bounce off of someone's aura shield, into deadly weapons that pass through without so much as a twinge of resistance.

Rendering all aura defenses completely useless.

If some of that dust were to be transferred into the body of someone who possessed aura, it would be able to block whatever flow of energy they had with its negation effects.

"That explains how the prideful gladiator was beat so easily." I said, motioning for Albus to come out.

"_Doesn't matter. Don't let something as useless as dust get in our way. Now hurry up and heal her."_

The white book at my side gently glowed with bleached pale yellow light and floated up in front of me. Its pages flawlessly opened up and flicked through in a stream of turning paper. The words passed by unreadable, but I knew exactly where I needed to go, and so did Albus.

Ending on a page deep into the center of the book, I read off the incantation I already knew by heart.

"Let the healing lights of love and passion take away the suffering of the weak, Titianna!" I recited perfectly.

Instantly, the book floating in front of me snapped shut and glowed brighter. The pale yellow became a brighter and warmer glow of light green. I could already feel the atmosphere becoming more welcoming as the healing flow of light became blinding. The glow quickly passed from Albus and moved to the center of the room, like a flying orb of concentrated light.

As it centered itself, it slowly let its glow dissipate and completely disappear, revealing an angelic woman floating just a few inches from the ground. The timeless features of the healing angel reveled her to appear in her very early twenties. She had long flowing blonde hair that easily reached her waist, and her bright green eyes accentuated the already soft feminine features of her face.

She wore a silk light blue dress that cascaded down her slender legs and fanned out at her ankles. The fabric seemingly glimmered in the dull light coming from the lights from the ceiling. The dress itself hugged her body and showed off her modest curves, giving her a strong sense of beauty and attraction.

"Titianna, there's lingering dust in this woman's wounds. Can you extract it and heal her injuries?"

The woman gave a warm smile. She unfortunately couldn't talk, but if she could I'm sure her voice would be the most beautiful sound that would ever tickle my ears.

Lowering herself to the ground, Titianna gently padded across the tiled floor on her bare feet and approached the base of the hospital bed.

She fluently maneuvered her hands in front of herself and moved them in such a way that it was entrancing to watch. In seconds, her hands and fingers began to trail a light green light that lingered in the air for a second before fading. Titianna continued this motion and suddenly Pyrrha's body began to become engulfed in the same light that the woman appeared in.

Slowly, traces of dust began to float out of the seams of Pyrrha's wrappings and collected onto a nearby table. After the negation dust was removed, Titianna changed motions and cast her hands in front of herself, fingers spread and extended.

The glow engulfing the wounded girl became stronger and her heart beat began to steady. Pyrrha's shallow breaths become more controlled and relaxed, and finally she was beginning to steadily increase in aura.

Now comes the hard part.

I knew what was coming. It was one of the downsides of healing another person's wounds. Closing my eyes, I felt the warm light transfer over to me before I felt a sudden tinge of pain in my back, arms, and upper body. The twinge slowly increased to a throbbing pain and I could suddenly feel how much pain Pyrrha must have felt in her fight.

Her wounds became my problem now. _That_ was the cost of taking the pain away from someone else. It had to go somewhere, it can never just disappear.

I took a pained gasp and fell to my knees.

This hurts a lot more than I thought it would.

Painfully nodding my thanks to Titianna, I ignored her apologetic face and reluctance to go and quickly dismissed her before she could do anything else.

My vision began to get blurry as I struggled to keep myself from collapsing on the ground.

Before I knew it, the door to Pyrrha's infirmary room opened and in walked two people. The temperature of the room changed suddenly and I was immediately basked in some kind of soothing warmth.

Strange, was the heat turned on? It didn't feel at all uncomfortable, actually quite the opposite. It was warm and inviting, like it was calming my nerves. Instead of dwelling on that, I looked up and recognized one of the two that walked in. One I knew, he was the one that got everyone out of this room for me. He slowed to a stop and stepped aside, letting the second approach my kneeling form.

The girl quickly dropped to her own knees in front of me and supported my shoulders.

"Please, don't move. Let me heal you." She said, her voice was sweet and gentle. The tall brown rabbit ears atop her head folded at the tops slightly, but I couldn't help but think they looked cute like that.

She had long brown hair that she quickly brushed behind her ear. My own eyes took in her shy smile, but the urgency in her brown eyes prompted a subtle nod from me in return.

"_She's hot, can I keep her?"_ Fate asked me, causing my cheeks to flush red.

The next thing I felt was a numbing sensation coursing through my body, relieving me of the pain I felt and giving me a sense of security. Within moments, I could feel the wounds receding and disappearing entirely.

Must be some kind of healing semblance.

After a few minutes, the beautiful girl kneeling in front of me sat back on her heals and broke eye contact. She adorned another shy smile and looked at me out of the corner of her eyes.

"I-I need to take you to another room to finish healing you, then you need to rest. I-If that's okay with you." She spoke again, her voice had a mesmerizing accent to it that I just couldn't place.

"_If you don't ask her for her name, I'll take over and do it myself."_

Taking a steady breath, I complied to my sister's wish.

"Only if you tell me your name." I muttered out. To my despair, it came out a little more sheepish than I'd have liked.

She looked a little taken aback for a second, and if she thought I didn't notice, I did in fact see her rabbit ears twitch slightly from my question.

"Velvet." She said, more sheepishly than me. "Velvet Scarlatina."

"_Either you're going to grow some balls little sis, or this sexy bunny is going to be all mine. We share this body, remember? I can tell your heart's racing, so maybe during your private healing get her digits, set up a date, maybe even steal a little kiss. You know you want to."_

I mentally shushed my sister and stood up, admittedly there was still an aching pain in my back but it was bearable.

Velvet quickly followed in suit and stood with me, giving me her support and taking me toward the door of the room.

As we passed, Xera gave me a thankful smile but otherwise just kept to himself. But his eyes said it all. An embarrassed shade of orange graced his irises as he looked away, distracting himself with Pyrrha's steady heart monitor by the window.

You sly little phoenix, I bet you actually went and found this beautiful rabbit while I was busy. Even if it were just innocent intentions of something as simple as help or to observe health behaviors.

As if he read my thoughts, he looked back and shrugged his shoulders, eyes transitioning to a cool steady blue; neither dark nor light.

And with that, I was led out of the room and into the one next door. It was then that I realized the steady warmth was no longer there, but instead replaced by the cold confines of my own infirmary bed.

I looked over to Velvet watching her scrub her hands down by the sink to make sure she was sterol for what she was going to do.

"Velvet I want to say thank you for doing this it means a lot to me."

I noticed a faint blush dust my nurse's cheeks before turning slightly toward me, "I-I, uh…am going to need you to take your shirt off f-for what I am about to do. S-since it would appear that you took on Pyrrha's injuries completely." She said, a little hesitantly but continued after meeting my eyes. "That would mean your spinal cord is in a critical state. I did what I could back in her room to stabilize it but it will need more than just that."

_"Oh baby you can strip me down anyway you like."_

I couldn't believe some of the things that came out of her sister's mouth some of the time, but this was just a moment of pure embarrassment for me either way. So her words barely registered in my mind anyway. I started to take my shirt off and let it slip off my back. Most likely, there were probably three bullet impacts and some scarred flesh where my spine ran down my back. From the looks she was giving it, I'm pretty sure that was clearly the case. I lied back down on the bed and waited for Velvet to start.

After a minute or so of waiting and sounds of Velvet moving around I once again felt the aura working its properties through my body. Much like earlier, I felt muscles and bones shifting back into place sparking a dulled but throbbing ache in my back.

I tried to relax but ended up hissing out in pain anyway. I'm not inhuman you know. Well, figuratively anyway. Still, there's no such thing as a super faunus.

"I-I'm sorry Destiny, I know I'm not as skilled as many of the other people here so please forgive me for any pain you are experiencing."

Ah, so she's new. More stuff to know and find out.

"You're doing just fine Velvet, but how do you know my name, did Xera tell you?" It was a serious question at the time, well that's what I'd like to admit. Maybe it's the pain getting to my head or something. Soon after asking that, I could have slapped myself from how stupid it was of a question.

I should have actually. Sure he might have told her my name but still, I _was_ also in a well-known tournament, which is still going on, and I'm not exactly a discrete fighter.

Gah! So stupid!

"A-Actually I've been watching you fight in the tournament." Velvet admitted. "A-and…I am actually a pretty big fan of your books so it's a pleasure to finally meet you, to speak with you as well." I couldn't see her face right now, which would also mean she can't see mine. I'm happy to say that my ridiculous smile could've been taken as insane right now so I'm glad she can't see it.

I have a fan…_and_ she's cute.

"_Hey sis! She's a fan, even better! You can base a character off of this sweet bunny babe and let us get down with her. Come on…you know you want to. I mean, you're already half naked with her so get us a little action!"_

Sometimes…that sultry voice of my sister just straight up scares me…and embarrasses me to no end.

Now I'm really glad she can't see my face now. It's probably on fire with crimson flames.

"_Stop blushing, I'm serious."_

Well, I'm serious too. I'm not doing that.

"_Okay, well I am then!"_

Damn it, I got too relaxed! I let my guard down.

The next thing I knew, I felt my own control over myself fade and watched as Fate rolled over. She completely exposed my chest but that wasn't the end of it.

Velvet froze up since she lost access to my back and just looked down at my eyes in confusion.

Don't do it!

Fate propped herself up on her elbows and gave her nurse a warm smile.

"Sorry, my semblance changes my hair color and clothes so don't worry about that." Fate lied, giving some false information to explain her existence. "Thank you for healing me. Do you mind if I give you something in return?"

Velvet had a moment of inner turmoil before gulping and nodding her head. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but I knew exactly what Fate was thinking.

"Good, but I'm going to need you to hold out your hands and close your eyes." I heard myself say.

Gracing a quick look of confusion, Velvet closed her eyes and held out her hands; palms up.

Fate mentally cheered before taking the girl's hands and leaning forward, capturing the rabbit faunus's lips with her own in a deep kiss.

Velvet froze up, mind melting from the heat as Fate continued to kiss her. After what felt like minutes had passed by, it ended. I felt myself lean away slightly, noticing the shocked expression on the girl's face and also registering the extreme blush that covered her cheeks as well.

"So, honey bunny. How was the kiss?" Fate asked in an innocent, slightly sultry voice.

Damn you sis. You sound so corny right now, but you are taking this _WAY_ too fast!

Velvet brought a hand to her lips, muttering something under her breath that I caught with my wolf ears. "T-that…was…m-my first…"

Before Fate could act again, Velvet's blush seemingly got stronger before her small form bounced backward and disappeared out the door.

Fate sighed in bliss before giving me full control again.

"_Worth it!" _She exclaimed, treacherous pride overflowing in her voice.

I am going to kill you, _sis_.

* * *

**3rd Person**

"JAUNE GIVE ME BACK MY BEAR OR I SWEAR I WILL FIRE THIS ROCKET LAUNCHER AT YOU!" The purple styled girl shouted from inside her dorm room.

Another voice followed hers but softer and more cowardly, "But he's cute!"

Inside her team's dorms, the entire room was messed up. Beds were set up as barricades on each side and dressers were used for doors. Behind one makeshift wall, Jaune sat crouched with a bear crushed between his arms. Across the room, Skyla stood on top of the bed with her rocket launcher resting on her shoulder looking like an angry ape from the future.

She shifted her grip and took aim with the rocket launcher, the massive weapon aimed squarely at Jaune's barricade.

"No! The bear is mine!" Jaune yelled popping his head up with his shield above his messy blond locks.

Skyla huffed and jumped down from her own barricade. "I guess there is one way to settle this."

The two looked at each other and quickly scattered from their protections and ran around the room gathering as much "ammo" as they could.

Once everything was cleared out, they ducked back behind their beds.

Jaune snickered and looked at his choice of ammo; A book, rolls of clothing, shoes, and a portable lamp.

Skyla, however, stole all the books, some shoes without their pairs, hangers, and the drawers from the desk and dressers. Her choice of ammo would hurt a lot more than Jaune's.

Jaune peeked his head above the bed with a shoe in hand.

"Skyla! It's battle time!" He yelled raising the shoe above his head with a mischievous grin.

Before he could throw it, something large hit his chest, throwing him to the ground.

"Ouucchh." He groaned holding his throbbing chest.

Beside him, a large book flopped down with a loud 'plop'.

"Sneak attack!" Skyla yelled, still hidden behind the bed.

That book began the full out war that lasted for two hours. Every so often, they'd reload and scatter around once again. After a few more books were thrown, both teens ended up lying on the ground clutching their sore bodies.

Jaune raised his hand so it was visible to Skyla who was hanging upside down off the bed.

"Truce…" he called out weakly.

Skyla groaned and said, "Yeah."

The door clicked open and several pairs of shoes filled their visions, much similar to the shoes they used for ammo.

"Jaunneee….I think our ammo is walking!" Skyla yelled.

"I see it too. They're getting revenge!" He shouted back staring wide-eyed at the shoes.

"Yep, we've come to exact our revenge. Prepare to be thrown out the window." A familiar voice said standing in front of Skyla.

Skyla looked up and focused on the green sweatshirt.

"Oh, hi Xera! We were just having a snowball fight!" She giggled, letting her head fall back to staring at the ground like a drunken person.

"Whoa! What happened in here?" Rex asked walking in.

"Snowball fight." Replied Blake shortly.

"With books and shoes?" Rex asked uncertainly as he picked up a book and a shoe.

"SNOWBALLS!" Jaune shouted, correcting Rex.

"Right…I meant snowballs." He mumbled setting the items down on the desk.

"Anyways, did you guys want some food? You look a little…" Allix trailed off as she stared at us.

"Insane?" Someone said.

"Sleep deprived?" Another added.

"No…hungry." Allix said cutting their suggestions off with a glare.

Skyla jumped up excitedly and froze the instant her feet landed on the ground. She swayed slightly and shook her head and looked around.

"Sorry. Vision blacked out for a second." She giggled and walked out of the room.

"Go on without me." A weak mumble said from behind the desk.

Rex sighed and walked over to the grumbling blond. After staring at him for a minute, he effortlessly picked the boy up and swung him over his shoulder. Jaune let out a grunt and let his arms go limp as the human-brick wall carried him out of the room and through the hall.

"Pancakes!" Jaune called waving his fist.

* * *

**Skyla's POV**

I was asked by Xera to distract Jaune, Nora, and Ren from Pyrrah's hospital room, considering all three of them were walking train wrecks. So, Rex took Nora and Ren to a coffee shop while Jaune retired to his room to cry. Well, he said sleep but the walls are thin.

So, I went to cheer him up. At first we watched a comedy under the massive tent we created, but then Jaune stole my teddy bear and that's what started World War III.

Right now, we're heading over to the coffee shop to meet up with Ren and Nora since Rex had to leave because he got 'word' of the snowball fight. He was worried one of us killed the other.

"Hot chocolate!" I shouted excitedly as we entered the shop.

"Yeah, I'll get it for you. But, since you're on OSS, I'm not allowed to let you stay inside for more than ten seconds." Xera said holding open the door for me to exit.

I pouted slightly and walked out, plopping down on the curb. Ever since the ice cream shop explosions, whenever our team goes out somewhere I have to wait outside in fear I'd blow up the shop. Which, in my defense, I don't do unless I try to serve myself. That stupid OSS rule, Out of Shop Suspension, how long will it last?

After coffee (and my hot chocolate) we all separated into our dorms so team JNPR could get some well-deserved sleep.

I sat down on my bed and buried my head into the soft pillow with a sigh. After all that happened over the course of the week, I was exhausted and ready for a nap. Especially after that two hour battle with Jaune.

"Hey Sky?" Xera called from in front of the bookshelf.

"Mhmm?"

"What's this?" He held up a book with my name as the author.

I chuckled, "That's the book I wrote about my life!"

Xera looked at the cover and read it aloud, "'The Crazy, Quirky, Explosive, Life of Me!' By Skyla Xerious."

I nodded and sat up as Allix walked over as well to check out the book.

"Since when did you write the book, let alone find time to without us knowing?" Allix asked taking the book from Xera.

I shrugged, "I'm a ninja."

"Ninjas don't write books." Xera commented absently.

Allix opened the book and flipped through all the pages with a confused look.

"Why do all the pages say food?" She asked.

"Because that's my life." I replied, "Oh! Look at the last few pages!"

She did as told and her face turned into an even more confused expression.

"They're blank…" She trailed off flipping through it once again.

"Yeah. Procrastination and I got hungry!" I exclaimed happily.

Rex raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that's a good thing.."

"300 pages of the repeatedly used word, _food_. How long did that take you to write…?" Xera asked.

"…well, you see…" I trailed off.

I shrugged and hopped off the bed and walked towards the door. As I turned the doorknob I spoke, "Well, you enjoy that story while I go out to explore."

"Explore where?" Xera asked.

I shrugged, "Narnia."

"Don't blow anything up!" Allix yelled as I exited the door.

I walked down the hall and out the dormitories. The constant chatter greeted me as people buzzed around the campus all excited with gossip from the tournament.

"Did you hear what happened to Pyrrha?" Someone asked their friend as they walked along.

"Yeah! I heard whoever hurt her has no records here!" Their friend replied with a gossip-loving smile.

They scoffed, "Oh, please. That's just some rumor. Of course he has records!"

Their voices got quieter as they walked on, disappearing into the crowds away from me.

I frowned slightly hearing that the usual gossip was replaced with Pyrrah's battle against Zerath. After the battle between them, she ended up hospitalized and hasn't woken up since. Everyone's worried about her, and her own team never left her hospital room until recently; and that was by force. They were the ones who were hit the worst. They haven't eaten, slept, or showered since the battle. So I, the crazy teenager, was tasked to distract the three and cheer them up. Rex and Allix were in charge of feeding and shoving them into bathrooms. What I couldn't shake from my mind was Zerath's decision to keep firing even when Pyrrha's aura was critically low. It looked like he was going to kill her.

The worst part wasn't even him being a ruthless monster; it was the fact that the ruthless monster who beat Pyrrha up was Xera's brother.

They don't act or look much alike, so I'm wondering if one of them was adopted. Xera doesn't talk much about his family, so to the rest of the group, it's a mystery. Which is understandable since many of us don't mention our parents at all.

For me, my parents are missing. Like some of the students here, they were hunters and huntresses. When they did go missing, I spent weeks taking care of my little sister until our aunt came along and took us in. From there, we lived with her for many years. My uncle came and left. He called himself an adventurer, despite his lack of direction, and often took us along to the places he went. Sometimes, the adventures went bad and we ended up stranded on some island infested with grim. He always made the bad things seem good and often appeared as a little crazy. He rode on the back of one of the grim and brought back coconuts one time just so we could drink the milk and so he could make himself a pair of coconut bras with the remaining shells. He looked glorious.

Right now, my sister is back at Signal training to become a huntress as well. Her reasoning was simple; she wanted to find our parents. I didn't have the heart to tell her that they were probably gone by now so I let her train. Of course I'm worried, but I'm sure she'll be fine.

So there you have it, _my_ family. I didn't tell my team because the subject was never touched. I don't know about Rex's, Allix's, or Xera's and they don't know mine. I don't think it's important to know anyways.

I walked around the campus for a few more minutes before deciding to go out into town. I heard there was a new ice cream shop opening where the old one was, so I'm excited to check it out; while on strict orders from Xera of course.

Today, I decided not to wear my battle skirt and instead replaced it with a simple pair of jeans and a dark purple scarf. I reached into my pocket to pull out my scroll to send Xera a message about the ice cream shop. We agreed on letting him know whenever I visited one, so he can prepare the costs in case it does explode. The next thing I felt was hitting something solid in the middle of my thoughts, and I lost my sense of gravity before landing on the ground.

I groaned and squinted at the harsh sunlight evading my eyes. A tall figure blocked the sun and extended their hand out to me. It took me a moment to realize they were talking to me.

"I am so sorry about that! Uh, let me help you up!" The shadow said.

I reached out and clasped onto their hand, pulling myself up. I dusted off my jeans and looked up at the person who knocked me off my feet. It was a boy, maybe a little older than me, standing there with a sheepish grin on his face. He wore an unbuttoned, black over-shirt with a white T-shirt underneath. His dog tags around his neck glimmered in the bright sun. Like me, he wore converse. Which, automatically makes him cool.

He had dark brown hair that wasn't shaggy or short. It looked like he ran his hands through it a lot during the day giving it a careless tousled look. The tips of his bangs were golden. But the thing that stood out most was his bright red eyes. They didn't seem like they fit him, since his outfit consisted of dark colors.

"Whoa…your eyes are very red." I mumbled staring straight at them.

He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Really?"

I looked at him shocked; a burning red covered my cheeks.

"I said that aloud, didn't I?" I asked embarrassed at my lack of thinking in my head.

He nodded and looked away, scuffing the tips of his sneaks onto the ground. I watched him carefully before putting my scroll away.

"My name's Skyla." I held out my hand.

He looked at it skeptically before taking it in his, "Bladen."

"Bladen," I repeated, "Nice name."

"Thanks. You should hear my number." He said laughing.

He froze for a second as a bright blush covered his cheeks as he held his hands up in defense.

"I didn't mean it like that! Uh, it was a reaction. I normally joke around and say that..." He trailed off looking down at the ground.

I laughed, making his attention turn back to me, "I was wondering if someone would actually use that joke."

He nodded and the embarrassed blush still remained on his cheeks, staining them with a bright red color, almost as red as his eyes.

"Hey, if you're that embarrassed, why don't we start over?" I offered smiling sympathetically before sticking my hand out again.

"Hi, I'm Skyla!" I announced with a grin.

He looked at it and smiled before taking it once again, "Bladen."

I retracted my hand, "Well Bladen, why don't we go get some ice cream? I have a serious craving for some cookies and cream."

He nodded and followed me as I walked along the pathway, chatting about the need to knows with him. Such as, team, age, weapon, favorites, and so on. Basically introductory basics.

"So favorite food?" I asked, continuing our game of twenty questions. I already asked ten questions, leaving me with ten more.

"Strawberries."

"Favorite color?" I looked at him as he stared straight ahead.

"Blue."

"If you could have a pet, what animal would it be and what would you name it?" I asked.

He looked at me amused, "I think that counts as two questions."

I shook my head, "Nah, same category."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded, "Alright. Well I'd have a pet dragon named Zion."

"Zion? Nice name. What color?"

"Blue." He spoke as if the answer was obvious.

I laughed and held onto my bag's strap as we neared the ice cream shop.

"You have eight questions left." He said breaking the short silence.

I nodded, "Well, I ran out of questions to ask."

"What about you then? What animal and name?" He asked, glancing my direction.

I thought for a second before letting out a breath.

"It's a little ordinary but I would like a kitten named Onyx." I said reaching over to pull open the door.

Bladen beat me to it and held the door open for me as I entered. I nodded in thanks.

"I think ordinary is fine. Kittens are cute anyways." He said grinning.

I let out a gasp as a new question popped into my head. He glanced at me, confused as I jumped to face him with an excited grin.

"I thought of a new question. Are you a cat person or dog person?" I asked.

"All that excitement for that question?" He asked with a teasing smile.

I glared at him playfully, "Just answer."

He made a thinking noise as he tapped his chin with the tip of his index finger. After a few moments, he looked back at me.

"Dog. You?"

"Both." I said, turning to face the ice cream man waiting patiently with an ice cream scooper in hand.

"Two scoops of Cookies n Cream please." I said, reaching into my pocket to pull out the desired amount of lien needed. I didn't realize the man paused to look at Bladen beside me with an expectant look.

"And I'll have two scoops of strawberry please." He said holding out the lien in his hand.

I glanced at it seeing there was more than what costed for one cone.

"I can pay for my own you know." I said taking the cone from the man.

Bladen shrugged nonchalantly, "It's the least I can do for pushing you to the ground."

I thanked him and took a seat in one of the booths near the back. He slide in across from me and licked his pink ice cream.

"Seven more questions." He commented looking at me.

I thought for a bit before getting up from my seat.

"I don't have any more. You think of some to ask me." I said before walking away towards the counter. I grabbed a handful of napkins and made my way back to the brunet.

I slid into the booth as he asked his first question, "Favorite color?"

"Purple." I replied.

"Favorite style of fighting?" He asked.

"Up close."

"Okay, how 'bout this one." He smirked and leaned forward a bit toward me, "You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus: an old lady who looks as if she is about to die, and old friend who once saved your life, and the perfect partner you have been dreaming about. Knowing that there can be only one passenger in your car, whom would you choose?" He took in a deep breath and stared at me expectantly.

I thought over the riddle for a moment before asking, "Can I tie them to the top of my car?"

He shook his head. I let out a sigh and repeated the riddle in my head.

"Hmm… well you never said I had to be in the car. So if that's the case, I'd give the keys to the old friend since I trust him to drive the old lady wherever she wanted to go, and then wait with the partner for the bus." I explained with a casual grin.

Bladen nodded, "That makes a lot of sense." He said before taking a bite out of his cone.

"You like breaking rules, don't you?" He asked.

I shrugged, "I don't like breaking them. I just like bending the rules after finding some loop holes I can use for my benefit."

"Isn't that cheating?" He asked with a questionable look.

I giggled, "It's only cheating if you get caught!"

"But I like playing fair too. Cheating's bad in important things." I added quickly, trying to regain the good first impression. The last thing I need is him thinking I cheat at all things in life.

"You're an interesting person." He said smiling softly.

I smiled back and finished off the last bit of my cone before standing up. He stood up as well and crumbled his napkin into a ball and throwing it into the trash can.

"So, I guess this is where we depart?" He asked as we walked towards the doorway.

"Up to you. We could go our separate ways and meet again some other day or we could hang out somewhere." I said, throwing my bag over my shoulder.

We exited the shop and noticed how the sun was beginning to set.

"I think we did enough today. We should save the other fun adventures for another day." He said, looking up at the orange sky.

The sun was already setting, casting a glow across all of Vale. I nodded in agreement, enjoying the sunset and warmth. We bid each other goodbyes and exchanged contacts before walking away. I slipped my hands into my pockets and walked in silence, enjoying the glow of the end of the day.

The weather here was always comfortable and relaxed. No wonder my uncle enjoyed exploring different parts here. The weather was ideal for it; not too hot, not too cold.

By the time I had gotten off the airship and reached Beacon and the dorms, the sun had already set and the chilly air rushed in. Students were still loitering around the campus with their teams, talking about the tournament and the boring teachers they have for class. I laughed to myself as this one kid I passed did a horrible impression of the jittery teacher, Professor Bartholomew Ooblek.

I opened the dorm room to see Allix with her lamp on and her nose buried in another book. Xera was gone, most likely spending some time with his faunus girlfriend, and Rex passed out on his bed. Allix glanced up from her book to acknowledge my presence. I waved back to her and disappeared into the bathroom to change into my pajamas.

I walked out wearing my purple shorts and black t-shirt. On it were the words "Extra Caffeine" across the middle. I crawled into bed and stared up at the ceiling.

This week has been eventful and so has today. I smiled to myself knowing that I can actually go to an ice cream shop and not blow it up.

"Hehe…everyone would be proud of me. I should get star stickers every time we go somewhere and it doesn't end in ruins." I thought.

* * *

**Sky: Hey guys it's me Sky! So here's the long awaited (not really) chapter! I don't normally do author's notes because I don't have anything to say. So I'll make this quick. **

**Skyla's uncle looked absolutely glorious in his coconut bra. **

**Xera: Ah, good to see you actually leaving an author's note for once. Alrighty, so yeah break chapter came and gone just like that. Well, not really 'just like that'. This one actually took a while, unfortunately. I'm getting the hang of a complicated OC, hopefully things turned out the way I hoped they did. I want to finish up this tournament after all. There was a little explanation as for Xera's semblance at the start. I'm trying not to make him seem overly powerful, but he is still above average since his faunus heritage is ancient. He'll probably test it out at some point, get a feel for what he can use and how far he can go before it shuts off on him.**

**Anyway, I look forward to this arc being completed. **_**REVIEW**_**, please let me know what you think. Leave a **_**Favorite**_** and **_**Follow**_** the story, plenty more to come. Have a good one.**

**Cya XD**


	49. The Final Four

**Back from celebrating my eldest sister's 21st**** birthday out of state. Extended family is always extremely fun; tons of people, games, food, desserts, and a bonfire taller than my dad. All in all, it was awesome. Anyway, off to the next chapter. Pyrrha should be fine now.**

**Fair warning, this one might get pretty long. I'm trying to squeeze some things in so I'm prepared to finish the tournament on chapter 50; next chapter. The chapter length will return to the 3-6 thousand range afterward.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 49: The Final Four

**Xera's POV**

I'd like to say I slept well, and that morning came to me as a refreshing glow of golden sunlight and warm blankets. Or the alluring smell of coffee present to pull me out of bed, because that would be a pretty welcoming morning.

Instead…

…I got stuck with this.

But I _did_ smell coffee.

"Xera!" Skyla drew out my name in a long whine, "All the Oreo ice cream is gone!"

My eyes were still closed, and my pillow was very warm against my face. I quite liked pillows, they're soft.

Like fluffy marshmallows.

Sadly, I'm not actually a fan of how they taste.

Destined to wake up eventually, I rolled over and stretched my legs out as I lay flat against my back; still under my warm blanket.

"You ate it all, don't you remember?"

I opened my eyes to see a pouting Skyla in a solemn crouch. Her purple eyes were saddened, and staring into the heart of our empty mini-freezer. We had that, alongside our mini-fridge we all invested in for convenience purposes. The rainbow cheetah fluffy blanket draped over her shoulders did nothing to warm her cooling heart…

…as she let out the freezer's frozen air into our dorm room.

"Skyla." I mumbled as I sat up, letting my blanket fall and rest in my cross legged lap.

Whatever apocalyptic scenario my partner was running through in her head was cut short as she turned and looked at me with sad eyes and a pout.

"Please close the freezer, you're making it work harder." I stated evenly. I'd rather not have to replace the ice dust in its chamber because someone burned through its crystals by holding the door open.

She nodded her head and closed the door, falling into her morning routine without her usual early ice cream wake up call.

Maybe that's a good thing.

Skyla Xerious, without the energy from ice cream so early in the day, I've never seen this before.

I was surprised to have seen her dragging a cooler alongside her suitcase from when we first moved in. She must've bought the sweets in Vale or something to have it so fresh and cold. But, when we first brought our entire luggage into this room after our initiation, we were all shocked to see a random cooler among the rest of the scattered bags.

I peeked.

You know, for curiosity's sake.

It was filled to the brim with cartons of ice cream; Oreo was the abundant flavor. Each container was sloppily packed and positioned to fit ice crystal packs between each carton, keeping every one of them cool and not melted.

We bought the mini-freezer and mini-fridge the next day.

I figured it'd be for the best, and they've proven very useful so far.

Dragging myself out of bed and letting my feet fall to the floor, I took a look around. Allix was brushing her hair as she sat on her bed, already in her usual attire. She was probably the first to shower. Skyla had already trudged across the room and gathered her own clothes. She was in route to the bathroom door.

Rex was nowhere to be seen.

_Check-in isn't for another hour and a half._ I noted, glancing at the digital clock on the nearby desk. The bathroom door closed soon after, signaling the disappearance of everyone's favorite purple bandit.

Pushing myself to my feet, I nodded to the only other resident in the room as a silent good morning. Allix smiled and nodded back, before returning to her endless brushing of crimson hair.

Her braid usually takes a while to create.

Padding over to my own shared dresser, I pulled out a spare pair of sleek black sweatpants and black socks before moving down a drawer to grab a random pair of boxers. The neatly folded assortment of v-neck and casual short sleeved shirts were all still there in that second drawer.

I haven't actually decided to wear any of them, considering I'm always wearing my sweatshirt. It's just more comfortable this way, and also it's less work to go through in the morning.

After gathering up my change of clothes and a second sweatshirt, I folded and piled them in a stack on my bed as I moved to the coffee machine already brewed. Thankfully I've gotten into the routine of setting everything up the night before and timing it to brew at a certain time the next morning. It was nicely placed along our side wall of the room on a small table.

I grabbed my upside down double walled glass on the drying matt beside the machine and poured myself a steaming cup of black coffee; no sugar and no cream/milk.

The flavor is so much stronger that way.

I placed the pot back into place. It felt lighter than usual, maybe something went wrong with the water measurements I did. I brushed the thought off and reveled in the heat of my heated beverage.

Taking a cautious sip, I cursed my cat-tongue and reeled back a bit; my tongue burning. I don't know why, but I always do that to test the temperature.

It burns me every time. I may be fire proof, but I still ironically can't drink hot fluids.

_Huh, that's weird. Rex's cup is already used. It still has a bit of coffee in it. _That explains the lighter coffee pot.

"Do you know where Rex is?" I asked, turning around and looking toward Allix.

She looked up, hands still folding her hair back and forth as she absent mindedly braided her own hair.

It amazes me how she can do that so fast and so perfectly.

"He left early this morning." She informed, humming in thought for a moment. "Said something about picking things up in Vale to avoid a certain death." Allix mentioned before shrugging her shoulders.

_Rex isn't one to be frightened easily. I wonder what's got him to do the impossible…that big guy never wakes up first._ I pondered that thought for a second before placing my insulated glass down to cool, "Do you know when he left?"

"About an hour ago." Came her response. She was probably already expecting that question.

After she went back to winding her hair into her braid, I heard a click sound from the door.

_Speak of the devil…_

Rex walked into the room, pushing the door open with his back and stepping through backwards. His scroll to unlock the door grasped in one hand as his arms cradled multiple bags of bulky objects.

_Oh…now I know why he feared for his life._

Kicking the door shut behind him, he glanced around. Allix acknowledged his presence for a few seconds with a small wave before returning to her hair. I on the other hand, kept staring.

"Is Skyla around?" Asked Rex in a hushed tone.

I easily heard him over the background noise of the shower.

I pointed toward the bathroom door, and Rex's shoulder's visibly relaxed. It looked like he just had a huge weight pulled off his back…despite the countless heavy bags in his hands.

They were from Vale's Creamery.

"Oh thank god, I hope she didn't notice yet." He uttered before springing into action and began restocking the mini-freezer with ice cream.

Shuffling over to look over my teammate's shoulder, I noticed he was mainly stacking in Oreo ice cream alongside some other flavors. I wonder why he was so worried about this.

"What's got you so worked up?" I asked.

Rex jumped slightly and fumbled with the container in his hands, nearly dropping it. It seems his nerves were strangely on edge.

"I…sorta ate the last bit of ice cream last night. I was groggy, and tired, and needed something sweet and cold. It wasn't until after I finished it when I realized…it was the last carton." He explained in a hushed tone, his eyes darting between his still stocking hands and the bathroom door.

"Did you pull it out of the freezer? There was no way you could've and not noticed it to be the last one." I asked, digging for more information.

"No." He shook his head, "It was on the desk, still cold." Said Rex. He then cursed under his breath, "I should've checked the freezer first."

_I get it now._ Poor guy. Skyla probably had a nightly serving of ice cream. But he ended up finishing it off, and leaving the freezer completely vacant of Skyla's sweets. So, here he is. He woke up early with the intent of going out and buying more ice cream to restock the freezer.

Such a good guy.

I applaud him for his thoughtfulness.

…

Too bad Skyla already checked the freezer. Hopefully she won't think anything of last night once she sees all the ice cream.

Once that thought left my mind, I noticed something. The shower had stopped running.

Stepping back to grab my clothes for my own turn in the bathroom. I also purposely created distance between Rex and myself. He was just about finished packing the freezer, down to the last two cartons.

It was then, that the bathroom door slammed open.

The next moments happened in a blur. Out of the steam crashed a streak of light purple, the brunette bounded across the room and dove for the locked up Rex kneeling in front of the open freezer. His eyes wide and fearful as he watched the blur diving toward him.

He couldn't move.

The ravenously hungry look in Skyla's eyes said it all.

She grabbed hold of the Oreo ice cream carton in Rex's hand and tumbled past his still shocked form. The girl rolled to her feet and unsheathed the metal spoon she always holsters on her combat belt. In the next instant, a spoon full of cold sweet creamy ice cream found its way into her mouth as she plopped herself down on that spot.

A new, blissful glaze fell across her eyes as she savored the taste. The spoon still nestled in her mouth.

I smiled, I love my team.

Patting Rex on the head as I passed by, I gave him my silent support, then disappeared into the steamy bathroom; clothes in hand.

* * *

**Third Person**

"Okay, is it just me or did Aero Coliseum get bigger over night?" Yang asked, staring up at the marvel before her team.

Teams RWBY and XSRA were walking together to the tournament. Team SNAR was already there, they've probably claimed our usual cue room again for the rest of them. Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, and Nora were all knocked out of the running so they originally didn't have to come today. However, they'll be watching the matches and giving their friends support from their end in Pyrrha's infirmary room.

She woke up.

There was no way her team was going to leave her side any time soon, even against her pleas to go enjoy the tournament.

RWBY and XSRA all made an agreement to visit her after today's matches.

"Yeah, it looks twice as big as it did before." Ruby agreed with her sister, a curious look adorning her face.

"I never know what Ashton's up to." Weiss sighed from her spot behind the sisters. "My family's known him and done business with him personally for as far back as I can remember. But even so, his unusual business propositions and tactics were always unknown to us." Taking a breath and looking down at the street, she idly commented, "It amazes my father how successful that man actually is."

Blake stayed silent throughout their little conversation. Ashton was a man of many things, but success was the highest on the list. He just had a way with people, a silver tongue and a golden attitude. You could do nothing but love his personality. And because of that, he'd become one of the most successful multi-business owners in all of Vale.

He's truly a force to be reckoned with.

And the biggest aspect, that Blake certainly took note of, is Ashton's preference to avoid taking ownership of faunus labored companies. However, that doesn't stop him from dealing with some.

She doesn't blame him though. With the amount of dust this coliseum uses alone, it's completely natural to turn to the Schnee Dust Company for support.

"Whatever the case, we should be ready for anything." Weiss finished.

"Yeah, whatever he throws at us…we'll be ready." Ruby agreed, now swinging her arms at her sides as she walked.

Blake's eyes strayed to the one walking beside her. His hands were deep in his pockets and his eyes were unfocused. He was thinking about something. The more she looked at him, the more she noticed his eyes flick between colors and the occasional falter in his step.

Silently, she slipped her smooth hand into his pocket and took hold of his own; pulling it out as she did so. His eyes glanced over and stared into amber orbs through his black bangs.

"You looked a little bothered, so I felt like helping out a bit." She explained, squeezing his hand slightly in her own.

"Oh, sorry." Xera apologized for no reason. His other hand found its way behind his neck as he rubbed it in a sheepish manor. "I've been trying to figure out how to control my semblance. I really need to switch something out." He admitted.

Blake gave a small smile in understanding. He'd mentioned his semblance earlier in the tournament, back when he took her to that lone tree. But even then, he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing.

He'll figure it out eventually, he always does. And she'll be there to help every step of the way.

"Well, I'm here for you. Maybe I can help." She stated her thoughts, subconsciously stepping closer to the teen.

Xera smiled and chuckled quietly, "Yeah, I know. And I'm thankful for that." His eyes settled on a sky blue. She'd long since figured out what that color means. It was his genuinely happy eye color, so that was more than enough to make his thanks meaningful.

"I may need you to shoot at me at some point." Xera added, looking up in thought.

Blake tightened her hold of his hand by a small amount and gave him a confused look, "What?"

"You know, just shoot at me for a while. I want to work on bullet deflection." Replied Xera with a shrug of the shoulders. That confused look was really cute, why was she so cute? Oh yeah, because she _is_ cute.

Despite her serious melodramatic personality.

* * *

"Welcome back!" Ashton announced from his usual spot up on the announcement balcony. "As all of you have probably realized, things are slightly different than when you were here previously." He gestured to the stands.

They were now split into quadrants, and much further back than before. It seems the four corners were pushed back, by a lot, revealing an even larger expansion of Biome Panels that the stone stands slid over. The sections were all separated as well, but those empty areas were soon filled with a rising thick stone wall that completed the expanded arena.

"The Aero Shift! As I'd like to call it, expands the coliseum to double its original size; creating a much more massive fighting arena to mess with!" He explained.

Ashton turned around, a new bright lime green tuxedo dressing his form as he looked over toward Glynda. "Glynda my dear, would you mind tabbing over to the new list of biomes."

The woman sighed and did as instructed; now knowing why there was a third tab in the Aero Coliseum Biome application she has been using. In that tab was another list of biomes, most likely programmed to fit the specifications of the newly expanded arena.

"Thank you. Now, let's get this crowd riled up shall we! Let's show off biome number three on that list." He beamed and turned around, eyeing the crowed and contestants in their visible cue rooms below the stands.

Soon after, the new biome began to take shape from the sequences of vibrations. In just a few minutes, the remaining empty panels were covered with scattering dust and from that expanded a base of grass, dirt, and stone.

Then structures of stone and rubble emerged from the ground all over the arena, creating a massive set of ancient stone ruins. Much like the ruins that could be found scattered throughout the Emerald Forest.

"These are the Ruins of Runeterra! Please, enjoy its destruction!" Ashton exclaimed, psyching up the crowd for the next fight.

"Now, let's introduce the first fighters!" He continued, his lime green tuxedo getting brighter under the rays of the sun. "Welcome back, the gambling reaper of cards, Gabriel Stryker! And who this man is fighting? He's the elusive swordsman who has surprised us all, Xera Stark!" He announced, competitors already informed and walking out of the far entry tunnels on opposite sides.

Xera stepped out of his tunnel, hood flipped up and blades strapped across his back. He wasn't able to test his new weapon mode on anyone yet. No one's forced him to go that far. He stepped cautiously forward and looked around, taking in his new surroundings. He could no longer see the other side clearly. His opponent was small in the distance in the clear pathway of pillars all the way to the other side. There seemed to also be a large courtyard at the center of these ruins.

He could just barely make out Gabriel tipping his hat in his direction as a sign of silent greeting.

_It'd be best to keep my semblance under wraps. Only use what I've been using. _Xera thought as he awaited the start of the match. His eyes kept himself busy by watching the different orbs floating around. Two of which were in his field of view, showing off the aura monitors.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Fight!"

Xera heard the start of the match and the observation orbs flashed green, signaling him to kick off. There was no way he, or his opponent, could engage the other in a ranged encounter at this kind of distance. They didn't have the kind of weapons to do that.

He had no doubt that Ruby and Allix would have an easy time in an arena like this though.

What kind of arena spans 900 feet in diameter anyway?

Sprinting forward, he ducked into the ruins to his right. Hopefully he'd be able to use his natural stealth abilities. Deception is the semblance he's most used to, and here he is running into battle to combat a skilled opponent without it.

He's hoping he can get a hang of his current active semblances just enough to allow him to fight with them. Maybe he could do this without relying on his semblance. But, if he has to, he'll probably just fall back on Blake's semblance. That works similarly to how his Deception works, so it should be easier.

Ducking and leaping, he traversed quickly and quietly through fallen pillars and broken walls. Eventually he reached the outskirts of the central courtyard.

His opponent most likely already made it there, if not then was nearing it soon. He observed his surrounding and paid attention to any sound of movement.

Nothing.

There was nothing that gave any indication to Gabriel's presence.

_Maybe he's waiting somewhere?_ Xera closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he could sense the faint distortion of an aura signature, then he can find the general direction of where his opponent is. Everything drew quiet as he imagined his surroundings.

_This would be so much easier if I could switch out to Rideat's semblance…_ He thought idly, them calmed his mind to focus all senses on his aura. All auras naturally react under the presence of other aura signatures. It's just a natural reaction that occurs between unlocked auras. The reactions differ slightly between the different intentions of the other.

That's why you're aura warns you that something is watching you. It gives you subliminal messages through your senses and acts as a sixth sense. When proficient in aura manipulation, you can conjure up this 'sixth' sense and utilize it to your advantage.

Enhance it, so to say.

Xera focused, blocking everything else out. The ruins of stone and pillars disappeared from his mind. The ground laid itself out like a digital grid, flat and expansive. He felt the subtle wind rustle the lose strands of his hair. The vibrations in the ground reverberated through his entire body.

There, there it was.

The faint silhouette of another aura signature was in his immediate area, across the courtyard. He could see him, mentally speaking.

Opening his eyes, he sprinted around the courtyard and slowed to a stop behind a set of pillars. Through them, he could see Gabriel leaning against the base of a ruined tower. He was flourishing around one of his blue reapers in one hand with the tip of his hat pointed toward the ground.

He was waiting.

He was waiting for Xera to make the first move.

_So be it._ Xera accepted the challenge and snuck around to Gabriel's flank. Hopefully he didn't know Xera was there yet. Silently, the phoenix scaled the tower in ruins. Utilizing cracks and protruding stones, he made his way to the top of the structure and leaned over the edge.

Directly above Gabriel.

With a silent deep breath, and a few steps back and drew his blades. Xera leapt into the air and flipped so he was facing the stone structure as he fell; eyes never leaving his target. As he landed, he struck downward with both of his Annivia's Talons. The black blades dug deep through Gabriel's shoulders and struck the hardened ground beneath them.

_So that's how it is._ Xera quickly spun on his heal and crouched, slashing through two reapers and letting them split past him, detonating against the pillars at his own flank.

"Heh, you caught on quick. I'll give yah that." Gabriel commented, stepping forward from his spot behind a nearby pillar.

Xera looked down and kicked away the four light green reaper cards projecting Gabriel's image, disrupting their link and ending his illusion.

"Thanks, it would've worked…if it were used against someone else." Xera retorted, standing and facing his opponent.

He didn't have any immediate reapers in his hands to throw, something must be up.

"Damn, and I really thought I could get you with that." Gabriel chuckled and released a drawn out sigh, "Graves I hope you're watching, 'cause this is how you lost."

Snapping his fingers, Xera immediately turned around sensing the heat pressure building up behind him. Red reapers were placed in cracks throughout the entire loose structure behind him. The one Gabriel's hologram was leaning against.

In the next second, every card exploded in a fiery directional burst. The whole explosion sent rubble and flames hurtling toward Xera and completely engulfed his body.

_Didn't see that coming._ Xera crossed his arms in front of him and took the blunt of the blow. Lessening the impact, he dug his heels into the ground and side stepped the larger chunks of rubble blowing past him. The rest…struck him in the body, lowering his overall aura percentage.

He could handle the flames. That was for sure. But there were just too many stones to try and dodge or slash apart. It was like a thick moving wall of rocks.

Now that the worst was past him, he moved through the flying rubble and disappeared behind the pillars again. Now was the time to strike while Gabriel watches the remainder of the falling rocks and dispersing smoke.

Xera locked onto his opponent and transformed his right blade into its lever-action shotgun form. Quickly, he homed in on his unsuspecting target and pressed the barrel of his gun into the lower part of Gabriel's back.

"What the-"

Without so much as a sound, Xera reached up and pressed the corrosive steal of his curved blade around Gabriel's neck. In the next instant, Xera pushed forward with his shotgun, arcing Gabriel's form further into the crook of his sharp blade before pulling the trigger.

Gabriel's shocked body was forcefully blown forward by Xera's gravity distortion round impacting into his back and swinging his body upward, his neck used as a focal point against the steel of the second black blade.

In normal circumstances, that move would've decapitate any other living thing without aura. But thankfully, Gabriel had a split second to push all of his aura into saving his neck.

Unfortunately, that left his back to take the force of the slug sent point blank into it.

The card slinger was sent flailing through the air in pain. He was thrown off balance by the pull of Xera's blade, so he couldn't gain his bearings long enough to arm himself.

Tumbling to the ground and rolled into the scattered remains of the ruins he blew up and slid into the base of a destroyed pillar.

Grumbling in effort, he pushed himself to his feet only to have to throw himself to the side just in time to see a black blade arc and slam into the ground where he once laid. The stone's where it struck melted away as it passed through the shallow ground like butter and bounced off the panels below.

He didn't have time to admire the blade's properties, because the second one was sent hurtling toward his dodging body at the opposite angle, heading directly for his original evasion path.

"Damn it!" Gabriel cursed as he extended his staff and spun himself around, digging the tip into the stones below. He planted his feet into the ground just in time to slam the curving sword out of striking range.

Xera flipped forward, having timed his throws to return to him at the same time, he spun and caught them. As quickly as he did so, he landed and threw both of them again. This time, he sent them in the same arc; one above the other.

Gabriel had to dive out of the way to avoid being slashed in two separate places.

He needed to respond, and fast. Before that kid could get his hands on his blades again!

The cowboy grunted and kicked up stones as he full on charged Xera's running form. The blades were still half way through their returning arc, plenty of time.

Whipping out reaper after reaper, he didn't even care what kinds of dust they were. He just sent an assortment of cards spinning through the air toward Xera.

Seeing this, Xera dodged around the whipped reapers and maneuvered himself in between throws. He was quickly reached however and Gabriel had three reapers between each of his knuckles on both hands.

This was the bluntest of Gabriel's attacks. He rarely used it, but it was a sure way to get a hit in.

Rearing back his fist, he sent a right cross toward Xera's shoulder. Xera had to lean back and diagonally slide forward to duck into the cowboy's guard. He slammed his palm into the underside of Gabriel's wrist, throwing it upward.

Xera vaguely sensed the feint, but it was too late. He had already committed to that move. Left undefended, Xera's back was struck by Gabriel's other fist full of reapers. Each card detonated elementally and threw the phoenix forward, only for Gabriel's first fist to slam downward across his back again, blowing him into the ground.

Without missing a beat, Gabriel drew his kinetic staff and slammed it down into the teen beneath him; sending a web of cracks along the ground.

Drawing his staff back for another strike, he wasn't expecting Xera to quickly roll to the left and push himself into the air by the elbows. He certainly wasn't expecting what happened next.

Xera's horizontally twirling body locked eyes with Gabriel, and that was the last thing the cowboy saw. Xera crossed his arms out in front of him, palms facing his feet and downward. Two glowing golden bracelets were illuminated by a feint orange light beneath his sweatshirt sleeves as he flew backward.

Putting everything he had left into the pull on his bracelets, he redirected their already returning paths and sent them slamming hard into Gabriel's side. The first struck him bluntly below the shoulder, the second collided with the side of his knee.

Because Xera crossed his arms, the two blades pulled slightly apart and swept Gabriel off his feet and reeling through the air like he got hit by a speeding spiked truck. The blades dislodged themselves from their target just as Xera flipped and righted himself into the air, sliding backward against the ground as he dug the balls of his feet into the stones. His sneakers skidded to a stop before he hardened his stance and let his blades pass him by.

The two swords circled around him and curved around his back, slamming into a reverse grip in both his waiting hands. His eyes hardened to a serious dark green as he tightened his grip and placed one foot in front of the other in a low stance. Bringing both blades back, he struck forward with his bladed hand guards crushing the remains of Gabriel's aura shield as he collided with Xera's attack.

It wasn't until Gabriel's body plummeted to the ground when he noticed the roaring crowd around him. At some point, his hood fell off from its flipped up position. But it was too late to fix it now. Sooner or later, the stands were going to see his face.

They needed to anyway.

"AND WE HAVE A VICTOR! It appears agility has proven to be successful in this confrontation after all! Congratulations Xera Stark!" Ashton's voice echoed from the observation orbs and across the speakers hidden around the stands, shaking the whole coliseum.

Gabriel rolled onto his back and gasped for air, "That one…hurt." He groaned and looked up to see Xera extending him his hand.

The card slinger accepted the help and was pulled onto his aching legs, "What was with that last attack?" He asked out of curiosity. He was positive he was out of the blades' way.

"What? You didn't notice?" Xera commented with a smile, "It's just something I've been working on." He answered vaguely. It was true, he has been working on his aura bracelet's focal points for aura attraction. There's something he _really_ wants to try.

"Nice trick by the way. Distracting me with the hologram to catch me off guard from what the real trick was." Said Xera, helping the cowboy walk out of the arena. "An illusion within an illusion, I like it."

"Y-yeah…just something I've been working on." Gabriel replied in a pained voice, but he donned a smug look anyway.

The two combatants disappeared into the tunnel and once again, the biome began to shift into something new.

This one, gave off the appearance of hell on earth. The ground was encased in fire and brimstone. Pools of lava and fiery geysers were dispersed throughout the heated biome, giving it a deathly feel. Like the underworld had risen to the surface for one last fight.

The reddened stone grounds were ridden with ash, and areas were rigidly spiked, some of the ground was broken with large lengthy cracks and crevices.

"Welcome to hell! Now, let's introduce the next condemned fighters. Please welcome to the fiery clutches of Hades, the once hammer-wielding smash master of a titan, Green Tsukayoshi! Unfortunately, his hammer split in his second successful fight! I wonder what his plan is! Because he's up against one of our strongest competitors, she's obliterated the opponents that went against her so far, she's Destiny Echols!" Ashton exclaimed through the mic, shaking some loose stones in the fiery badlands below.

Green stepped out of his tunnel. His grey hoodie unzipped revealing his green undershirt. His washed out blue jeans and tennis sneakers threatened to burn from the nearby fires. He lacked his usual hammer, so he didn't quite need to carry his backpack this time in favor of more mobility now. Since Yang snapped his hammer, completely rendering the inner-workings of it useless and un-transformable now, he was stuck with two stock heavy pistols with extended barrels. Green spent all night working on upgrading them to his liking; thankfully he got them up to a level he was satisfied with. But he never had time to test them, or paint them. They were still a sleek black with silver parts; like the extended barrels and priming hammers.

Destiny was also at a slight disadvantage. Due to her taking Pyrrha's injuries for herself, her spine wasn't fully set yet. And it still ached as she walked, but she can endure it. This meant Fate couldn't come out and fight hand to hand yet. So she'd just have to stick with her summons. Adjusting the red-framed glasses slightly, she let Albus float his way up and in front of her.

"Ohoho, do you see this place!? This is perfect for me to scorch that puny mortal! Lemme tear him to shreds!" A rough heated voice glowed out of its riffling pages.

Destiny sighed and ran a hand through her long black hair, her purple eyes scanning the pages before they stopped turning. "Fine. But I was already going to call on you anyway. You'd only be at an advantage in a biome like this."

"Who's ready to rumble!? Five! Four! Three! Two! One! LET THEM FIGHT!" Ashton bellowed, starting the match.

If only Green had his rifle. Maybe he could've interrupted Destiny's summon.

"Incinerate all pain and oppression, Kimura!" She called out, hand extended toward her book and watching as the pages became engulfed in swirling fire. The fire then shot from the book in an upward torrent and slammed into the nearby ground, cracking it in more ways than one.

Moments later, out of the ground came a large claw. It dug into the ground with the sharp crunch of crushed stone and dragged itself free from its hardened clutches. From the ground spawned in the embodiment of Hades' fire. Cerberous.

The three headed, massive growling hound spewed fire out of its three maws as it roared toward its opponent. The black chains connecting Kimura's three heads rattled under the vibrations coming from the feral growls the beast released.

"Time to die!" Kimura howled before plunging its front paws into the ground, claws scraping stone, as it lunged forward in a charge toward Green.

Green was, to his credit, actually still running forward as well to meet its charge. Maybe he had a plan.

_I have no idea what I'm doing. _Was the first thought running through Green's head. _Start with the legs? No, the heads will tear me apart. Why not start there? Maybe._ Okay, 14% of a plan has emerged. Some logical part of his brain screamed at him telling him that was barely even a concept. Of course, he didn't have much time to think it through either way.

Kimura just entered his pistols' ranges. Green started strafing to his right, taking his time to aim his dual pistols at the beast's necks.

Firing his rifle's combustion water rounds, he utilized his own ammunition to be used with the chamber size of the pistols in his hands. When he first saw the flame hound; that was the first ammunition he loaded.

Bursts of cooled water exploded against Kimura's necks and eyes, damaging its exterior flesh and dowsing some of its fire.

Howling in pain and stumbling over its front pause, it scraped to a stop and roared. Kimura's whole body burst with fire and seared the residual water right off its fur. The steam produced from the sudden heat wave caused the beast to shroud itself in a misty haze of white.

_I have a strange craving for apple juice right now; with no ice- No! Focus! You can't even see your enemy! _Green reloaded, letting his clips fall to the ground and slamming two fresh and loaded clips into place from his belt. He then picked up the discarded clips, because he's a nice guy. Pocketing them, he strafed cautiously around the expanding cloud of steam.

"Where are you?" He muttered under his breath.

Those words should've never left his mouth.

A moment later and a ferocious growl, Kimura leapt out of the steam and burrowed straight into Green, throwing him into the nearest spire of cracked brimstone. The teen smashed through it and tumbled to his feet beyond the spire; all the while firing more water based attacks at his opponent.

Kimura growled under the barrage of water explosions. It surged forward with heated anger as it shattered the remains of the stone spire and sent the large falling rocks crashing toward Green.

This wasn't an anime. He couldn't just run up the falling stones and end his foe in a daring maneuver of flips and well placed bullets.

No.

But he could run backward and out of range. That way, the flying stones would be dispersed far enough apart for him to easily dodge.

Turning and sprinting away from the rocks, he did just that. Dodging as he ran, he reloaded yet again and skidded to a stop at the far wall. Looks like his plan backfired, he's been cornered.

Kimura scraped the ground with an angry growl, fiery eyes glaring holes into its trapped prey as it slowed to an agonizing pace directly in front of Green.

"I don't suppose, we could uh…talk this out?" Green asked, knowing the answer.

"Not in any life time kid! Now, try not to scream too much…actually. Scream all you want, it's more _fun_ that way." The three heads spoke creepily, one at a time and in segments.

_Whelp, only one thing left to do._ Green stood still, and awaited his fate.

"Good boy." Kimura growled and lunged forward, burying its claws into Green…

…only to phase through him and slam head first into the wall behind him.

Green took a breath, letting his density return to normal and turned. He unleashed everything he had into the legs and two of the necks of the beast as it pushed off the wall, dazed.

He had it. He could win this. He even had more ammo of different types. _One head down, two legs immobilized. _Green listed off as he endlessly barraged his foe with the only element that did damage to a beast like Kimura. All he has to do now is-

***Click***

"No, no nonono no no!" Green sputtered out as his guns jammed. They were stock pistols in the end. And you can only do so much to them before they break on you. He didn't have enough time to modify them perfectly.

A demonic grin spread across the still flaming heads of Kimura. It began laughing, sadistic laughter rumbling out of its heated throat as it slammed the ground and dug its claws into the brimstone, locking itself in place.

"I'd run, boy…" It mocked a warning before taking in a deep breath through two maws. The fire glowing deep in each of their throats brightened ten-fold before unleashing a blinding storm of burning rage. Kimura's molten mortar fire engulfed Green before he could move in and attack.

Thirty seconds went by, and Green's aura took a drastic drop.

Kimura soon sputtered on fire, due to prior injuries and stopped its continuous torrent; the pain in its necks too much to keep going like that.

Green sighed in relief at his reserved aura; just enough to attack. Keeping this thing around should be taking its toll on Destiny's own aura. Glancing at the aura display orbs, he was right. She was running low as well. So if he could move and attack _her_, he might be able to win this.

Turning, he located the girl. Still by her entrance and leaning against the wall. She looked tired out, drained and breathing raggedly. If he wanted to end this, she was the key.

He began running toward her, holstering his pistols and going full sprint.

She saw this and her eyes flicked between Green's quickly approaching form and Kimura.

Kimura may be rash, sadistic, cruel, and blood thirsty. But it's loyal to a fault. Nothing in this world, or any other was going to lay a hand on its owner. With that thought, the beast dug its claws out of the stone and charged after Green.

The size of the beast, despite its front legs groaning in agony, allowed it to catch up just in time. It scraped the ground and lunged onto the wall. From that the beast pounced off and tackled Green to the side, dragging him deep into the upturning brimstone as the two tumbled away from Destiny.

As fast as Green's chance at victory appeared, it disappeared without as much as a second thought. Next time, he'd come with actual weapons…hopefully. For now, he just lay under the paws of the beast growling in his face.

In the next few seconds, Kimura's form burned away in wisps of fire and ash before vanishing completely. The last parts to disappear were its remaining two heads; both glaring maliciously at Green's downed form.

Well, at least no one can say he didn't try.

"Destiny has claimed victory! What a match!" Ashton announced, finalizing the match up.

Destiny took a deep breath and made her way out of the arena, she needed a rest. Her aura has been working overtime on healing her, so not all of it was forwarded into that fight. Keeping Kimura around for so long really drained the reserves she had on hand.

Green got up and made his own way out, taking a different exit and meeting up with his own team. He was the last one still left in the tournament. I guess all they can do now, as a team, is cheer their friends on.

And just like that, the biome deconstructed again into loosely piled multicolored dust mounds. Soon, the mounds began to move and pile up in the center of the stadium; creating a massive hill of dust. From that emerged a great active open-mouthed volcano, filled to with flowing lava. At its center, was a platform floating in the bay of molten rock. Two path ways went up the volcano's sides, meeting together at opposite ends of the platform.

"Oh boy, our next match up will be a clash of mighty skill folks! We have the lamppost wielding master of weapons himself, Jax Frost! And his opponent, the one that everyone's been talking about! He's the black legendary swordsman of darkness, Zerath Stark!" Ashton revealed the next combatants.

Jax's black cloak whipped dramatically backward as he stepped out of his entry tunnel. A quick flourish later, and a hand full of gummy bears found its way to his mouth for a quick pre-battle snack. His lime green eyes scanned the massive volcano before him. It nearly touched the glass dome above. And the pathway in front of him was an extensive one that winded its way up and through a cave half way to the top.

Zerath effortlessly drew his large black blade from over his shoulder. Its length and width surpassing any blacksmith's comfort range with practical weaponry. And yet, his proficiency with a weapon of this size was to be commended; an unbeatable force to be reckoned with.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One! … Begin!" Ashton announced the start of the match and looked back to Ozpin, still sitting idly in his chair with a mug of coffee in his hand.

"Are you sure?" Ashton asked, questioning Ozpin's decision to let Zerath into another fight.

Ozpin placed his mug down on the table to his side and clasped his fingers together beneath his chin, "I believe he's more than meets the eye. We can trust him…for now."

Jax ran forward, the tails of his cloak flicking behind him as he effortlessly scaled the volcano. It's a good thing he went volcano hot tubbing last summer, so he's already used to these kinds of climbs. He made it to the top in good time, expecting to be the first inside the volcano only to see Zerath's simmering form standing at the center of the lava platform.

Shrugging off his lost race, he leaped down and landed at one end of the large square platform, submerging his end in lava for a second before resting into place again.

Zerath still just stood there, sword drawn and pointed to the ground as his red eyes stared downward and out of focus.

"Well, are we just going to stand here all day? Or are we going to fight?" Jax asked in a mock British accent with a hint of gentleman stature.

Red eyes flicked up to greet his own lime green ones, and for a moment, a very brief moment, Jax faltered under that petrifying gaze.

This was going to be a tough battle.

Not even a second passed before Jax had to deflect a powerful swipe from Zerath's large blade. The weight of the barrel running down its center was giving it an odd sense of density, making every swing much more deadly.

Jax parried the strike into the ground, hoping to embed the blade into the brittle rock in the ground to buy him time to counter attack.

But with the ear rattling echo of a gunshot, the blade bounced back and forced Jax to leap into the air and over his opponent. He made an effort to slam his mace into Zerath's head as he flipped, but the swordsman swiftly evaded it without even so much as a glance.

Jax backed off, but Zerath didn't let up. He charged in again, driving his large blade forward and slamming it into a hasty block Jax threw up in defense. The claymore pushed him backward, his boots skidding across the brittle floor.

He needed to let the power be redirected, so he turned his lamppost to let Zerath's blade slide harmlessly past him. Maybe now he could get a strike in.

Ducking past the passing blade, Jax struck with lightning fast speed; jabbing the end of his weighted lamppost into Zerath's chest and abdomen before backing off.

The attacks didn't stun the swordsman like he'd expected. Zerath only took the hits to transform his blade without Jax noticing. And in the next instant, he fired an explosive .50 caliber bullet toward the mace wielder.

Thankfully, Jax was a skilled predictor when it comes to combat. He had already position his lamppost to take the blow, and a bit of aura allowed it to do so without denting. But the impact sent him backward and toward the edge.

Another shot sounded out, this one striking the same spot as the first. It seemed Zerath would rather send Jax hurtling into lava instead of harming him with the sting of a bullet.

Jax took the impact again and tumbled over the edge of the platform. His black clad figure disappeared in a chunky explosive splash of burning lava.

_Bad move Zerath._ The lava stilled above Jax as he meditated beneath the surface. He began to feel the current, the heat, the pressure, all of it building around him. The molten lava began to implode around his form, revealing Jax in a flowing hole of lava. The hole that broke the surface didn't last long, since Jax soon had the rest of the lava pounding to his every command.

The entire volcano stirred and stormed, sending the brittle platform rocking and breaking into pieces.

The explosive waves got stronger, and Jax was soon lifted out of the lava and settling on top of its surface; the only calm portion left. Jax noticed something unsettling though. Zerath was smirking.

His crimson eyes were now purposefully avoiding Jax.

Baffled by the swordsman's decision, Jax fluctuated his aura and summoned forth most of his reserves for a finishing move. There was no way Zerath wanted this, not with this much potential power pulsing around Jax.

There was no way Zerath actually wanted this to happen, right? He'd lose.

Jax spared no second thoughts and exploded into action.

Literally.

All forceful waves stilled, and Jax's body stood on top of the lava's surface. The smoking cloak on his back riffled with energy, waving constantly under the pressure of his overflowing aura.

The lime green of his eyes glowed brighter than ever before, piercing through the haze of heat created by the lava.

Gummy bears flowed endlessly out of his pocket, melting into burnt sugar at his feet.

In the next moment, the lava around Jax burst outward. From the lava hurtled the heads of three serpent dragons. Each one flowing with living fire and power. Jax rode atop the middle one, and the two others followed in sync at its two sides. They all glowed with molten rock and spewed fire out of every possible crack.

The Trinity Dragon Final Assault was sent forward. The three dragons lunged upward and arced through the air, then dove in an intense fiery explosion of rock and lava. Each dragon plunged into the exact same target, Zerath.

The remains of the brittle stone platform shattered beneath the power of the pinpointed attack. The three dragons tore through the center of the volcano's lava pool, crashing into Zerath with unsurmountable heated energy; enough energy to stir the rest of the lava into harsh tidal waves.

The rocking of the remaining bits of platform that remained was slowing to a stop. The steam created from the attack simmered and vanished, revealing Jax standing on one of the floating rocks large enough for his body.

His lime green eyes looked around.

They settled on Zerath's standing form on a large stone not that far from his own.

"You wanted this, didn't you? Someone who could go against you in combat? Someone worthy?" Jax asked the swordsman. His aura only brought down by 10%.

Zerath didn't say a word; he just crouched down and positioned his reformed blade behind him. Pulling the trigger, he propelled himself forward.

"So be it." Jax sighed, closing his eyes and extending his arms; lamppost held in one hand.

He had met someone who could beat him at his best. That was good enough for him.

Zerath backed his strike with the strength of aura and a .50 caliber bullet, sending his massive heavy blade into an upward slash straight into Jax's body. The upward force sent the guy hurtling upward and out of the mouth of the volcano. He didn't stop there though.

Jax's flying form was sent hurtling between the support pillars holding the dome up, before disappearing into the skies of Vale.

"Whoa! Jax loses by Stadium Out! Zerath claims the victory!" Ashton proclaimed the winner in slight shock, but growing excitement.

Zerath sighed and holstered his large sword. "Your brother better put up a fight. If not, it won't be long before I take full control." He muttered to himself as he made his exit.

"_I know."_ The real Zerath's solemn response echoed within the confines of their shared mind.

"Whew, these have been some tough matches. How 'bout we finish these quarter-finals off with the last battle hmm!? Let's make it a good one!" Said Ashton into the mic after Zerath walked out of the arena, the volcano deconstructing around him.

Before long, the massive mound was dispersed and flattened out. Then, it separated into four mounds of dust. Everyone watched in new awe as the panels slowly sunk further into the ground, lowering themselves by a good 10 feet.

As they lowered, they built four islands in the four corners of the arena. They were large, and each one had a mini tropical jungle on them, past the sand that bordered each island. Once the panels finished moving down and forming the solid islands, water rushed in from the sides and filled the area between each island in minutes.

Pretty soon, the whole arena was turned into a tropical paradise of four islands with a substituted ocean of water. From that water, spires of grass-topped rock emerged in countless areas throughout the ocean. The spires were of different sizes and heights, but each one was positioned so you can jump from one to the other in a sequence; allowing for movement between islands.

The spires that crossed through the intersection however, were the most abundant and more random in patterns and sequences; making for a tough center to fight on.

Ashton spanned his arms in a dramatic gesture and over looked the arena. "Now for the competitors who are taking an unplanned violent vacation, please welcome to the Four Islands!" He started after moving the mic back to his mouth, "The world record holder of 'most ice cream stores destroyed through unknown means, Skyla Xerious! And her opponent, the reaper of roses, the scythe-wielding tornado herself, Ruby Rose!"

"Woo, ife fream!" Skyla cheered in a muffled voice, a spoon still stuffed in her mouth as she gnawed at it. She quickly holstered the spoon into its intricately designed holster alongside her spear-fork and readied herself for combat. With a flourish, her mid-thigh purple battle skirt, with black swirls at the bottom, ruffled dramatically as she seemingly pulled a massive purple rocket launcher out of nowhere. She quickly rested it against her purple half-sweatshirt clad shoulder, the article still only reaching mid waist. The purple undershirt could be seen through the dramatically intense stance she pulled.

She quickly hopped up onto the first spire closest to her tunnel, black and purple converse flatly meeting grass as she looked around.

To say Ruby had a similar appearance would be an understatement. She did everything Skyla did, but without the spoon or proclamation of ice cream. And her victory pose was substituted for a twirl of her scythe and a shy wave.

Okay, maybe not so similar.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Ashton yelled, gaining everyone's attention. "Five! Four! Three! Two! One! LET THE FINAL ROUND OF THE QUARTER-FINALS…BEGIN!"

He might as well have just muttered the word 'Chaos'.

Skyla bounced her way to the nearest island, rocket launcher held idly in her hands as she skipped and landed softly at the beach of the closest island. She quickly ran through the strangely thick jungle and found her way to the other side, only to see Ruby sprinting on top of the water in a display of speed and fluttering rose petals.

"Awesome, you look so cool!" Skyla yelled out over the waves.

Ruby was running out of steam at about half way, so she skidded to a spire and dug her scythe into it, her momentum flinging her up and landing on an adjacent one.

"Thanks!" Replied Ruby.

"Let's celebrate you're coolness...WITH ROCKETS!" Skyla cheered and giggled as she finally had her chance to use her rocket launcher. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about it in her previous matches.

Skyla's rockets were fired in clusters of five, each one spreading out in a wide high arc and homing in on Ruby.

_What are they, heat seekers?! _Ruby dashed to the next spire last minute, causing two of the five to crash into the rock and explode. The last three simply curved past it and struck the spire the reaper was standing on.

Losing her balance, Ruby dug her blade into the stone and jumped off, digging her blade into the side of a taller spire to slow her descent.

Five more rockets were now hurtling through the air toward her again.

"Gah! Stop that!" She squealed, pulling her blade loose and plummeting into the waves below.

The water was surprisingly crystal clear. Maybe it was because it was only 10 feet deep, but it was clear enough for Ruby to get a read on her opponent. Thankfully the water was enough to throw the heat seeking missiles off target, sending them harmlessly into the water as well.

Taking aim, Ruby fired hardened rounds out of the water and sent them toward Skyla. The water's disorienting effects were weird, but she adjusted and fired again.

Skyla had already switched out her rocket launcher for her dual blades. It wasn't long after Ruby started shooting that she started sprinting for the spires. She had to get close.

Dodging bullets, she bound her way across the spires and toward the underwater Ruby. The girl had to be running out of breath, and soon.

Just as Skyla leapt into the air and plunged into the water on top of Ruby, the girl was gone.

Her red underwater form surged through the water like a torpedo and moments later, the water she was just sitting in imploded in a sudden explosion of force due to the young girl's use of her sonic rounds.

The force sent Skyla slamming into the nearest spire, her flailing form crashing through the tower of rock before slamming into another spire. She quickly dug her blades into the rock to hold her there as she looked around for her opponent.

She couldn't see her.

Ruby could see Skyla though, from her spot atop the tallest pillar.

If Skyla wasn't so distracted from being thrown into a spire of hard stone, she would've noticed Ruby fire a second round downward and shot herself up onto the nearest stone tower.

Reloading, she quickly grabbed a clip of some regular bullets, honestly she felt like she was the only one who uses them anymore, then took aim through her newly designed 5-12x42 scopes. And of course, that meant it was a variable scope. So at any time she could switch to anywhere between 5x zoom and 12x zoom.

Quickly adjusting to her height and the wind variable, along with the weight of gravity's ever present bullet drop, Ruby fixed her sight's perfectly to counter all factors and re-aimed.

_Aim small, hit you're target. Aim for a beast's head, you'll miss by a mile. Aim for a beast's eye, you're guaranteed a headshot. _She recounted in her head as she slowed her breathing.

On her third exhale, she pulled the trigger. Her Crescent Rose recoiled back against her shoulder in her prone position, her bullet cleanly slicing through the air and slamming into her target.

Skyla was caught off guard by the initial bullet, but she quickly dodged the ones that followed and leapt from the side of her spire to another, and then another. The bullets whizzed past her and struck stone and water, missing her by only a hair each time. Some even hit their marks.

Thinking quickly, she found where the girl was perched and leapt off again to draw her rocket launcher. In one swift movement, she sent five rockets surging forward as she sent herself propelling backward from the knock back of its recoil.

She disappeared into the trees of the nearest island, and out of sight. She wasn't able to see if her rockets hit their target or not.

Ruby quickly stood up and took aim. She refused to back down from such a challenge and homed in on the rapidly approaching rockets.

***Bang***

One rocket down, four to go.

***Bang***

The second rocket imploded on itself much like the first.

***Bang***

The third was clipped down its length and lost its wing. It momentarily twirled in the air before slamming into the fourth rocket that flew next to it, blowing itself up as well as its neighbor.

Taking aim on the last rocket, Ruby held her breath and focused on the center of its nose.

***Bang***

She quickly pulled the trigger, stopping the missile before it could reach within range of engulfing Ruby in its explosion.

As the explosion dispersed, Ruby loaded her third clip, resting the empty second clip onto the ground next to her first. She then primed the bolt back and flung another empty cartridge steaming through the air and landing next to a handful of others that scattered across the grass to her right.

_One more time._ She breathed, lying down again and searching the island Skyla was on through her scope.

To her surprise, she found her easily.

Skyla crouched in between a few trees. Her rocket launcher long since discarded and her blades resting at her sides, on the ground. Instead of her weapons in her hands, she held two bananas. In front of her, a cute little baby monkey was playing with its tail at the base of one of the trees.

"Awe, you're so cute." She cooed, ignoring the alarming question of how that monkey was even there in the first place.

This was an arena, designed and constructed out of synthetically engineered dust. And here, directly in front of Skyla Xerious…

…was a living monkey.

"Are you hungry?" She cooed again, completely distracted. Nothing else in this could prevent her from feeding this cute little monkey.

…

Except the gleaming bullet hurtling through the air.

Skyla barely registered the concussion of a sniper's gunshot, her mind ignored it. This monkey was far too important to be distracted by a stupid loud echo. No, she was going to feed this monke-

They bullet connect with her side, just above her waist. Her aura took the hit, but because of that it took a steep drop.

Still, Skyla held out the bananas, ignoring the pain in her side.

The monkey stopped playing with its tail long enough to reach out to take the food Skyla was offering.

The second concussion was also ignored.

And the girl took another hit, but this time to her shoulder. The impact threw her off balance and sent her tumbling into a nearby tree, dropping her aura into the red.

"Wow, what is that monkey doing there!? Who knows! Ruby Rose has claimed the victory in this final battle of the quarter-finals!" Ashton announced excitedly.

* * *

Ruby and Skyla walked into the cue room to rejoin their teams and friends. There were no hard feeling between the two of them. However, Skyla was a bit bummed out because she never had the chance to actually feed that monkey. Before she could, the banana collapsed into a pile of yellow synthetic dust that slipped through the seams of her fingers.

The shocked and appalled look on that monkey's face was heartbreaking before it high tailed and ran away.

"It was so cute too." The hyper girl pouted, staring at her hands in distaste.

"Don't worry Skyla. You can feed Rex!" Allix supported her sulking teammate and gestured toward the guy in question. He tensed up at the archer's words and began shuffling toward the door.

"That'll cheer you up." Xera commented, amused.

Skyla's purple eyes glanced upward from her hands and looked sadly at Rex, "But he's not a cute monkey…"

The guy visibly relaxed.

It seemed he was still tense from this morning.

Before any conversations could start, a third person strolled into the cue room.

Scorched and tattered, his black clothing, aside from his cloak, had a few tears and holes in a few places. But other than the still smoking cloth draped behind his black combat boots, it was all still in one piece.

Lime green eyes danced across the shocked faces of the room. He noticed a few had amused smiles, and did in fact notice how Xera and Skyla were the only ones not to have been shocked by his presence.

Lifting his arms, two bags clutched in each of his hands with styrofoam boxes in each, Jax let a smile curl across his unmasked face.

"Who want's Chinese take-out?"

* * *

A few hours after the day's matches had concluded there, were two figures standing in the middle of the arena. One an acentric man with tastes for destruction of beloved ruins, the other a faunus with the will to do anything to protect the people she cares about.

"Thank you for coming here to meet with me Ashton."

The announcer of many faces gave Destiny a small nod; a tip of his hat in response. "I hope you didn't ask me here because you're having cold feet about the finals and are going to forfeit your match Miss Echols. Ozpin and I both see great potential in you to become a fine huntress so please don't let us down now."

Destiny gave the man a cold almost neutral glare. For him to even give that as a possibility was insulting as it could be clearly told from her body language. "No in fact I wanted to ask you to do me a favor and rig your semi-final matches. I have someone I need to defeat in this tournament and I need to stop them. Now my opponent will be Zerath Stark, Ashton. And I won't let you deny me this." It was now clear just how determined Destiny was in setting things straight with the brothers and saving the life of another person much like herself.

Ashton's face darkened a bit. He wasn't a man to take idle threats, which he felt coming off of Destiny a little. "You should know the rules by now Miss Echols, these matches are done randomly!" He accentuated his point by extending his arms in a wide gesture; his voice echoing off the vacant stands.

"I can't just simply _bypass_ the system and _reset_ the factors or something of that nature." He put emphasis on a few words and pressed a hand to his chin, "So that would mean Miss Rose and the other Mr. Stark would face off as well." He pondered the thought before running a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"Tell you what, if you win a little game of mine I might feel like you deserve a reward!" A sly grin grew across Ashton's face as he glanced down at Destiny. "Now, it's a simple game of luck! One anyone can play!" Ashton took a silver lien coin from his pocket, showing it to Destiny as he put both his hands behind his back. He made it seem like he was passing the coin between his hands, but he activated his semblance teleporting his coin back to his pocket with a smile. He couldn't simply let someone face that monster, even if they were shown to be as powerful as Destiny was showing herself to be.

"Okay now pick which hand has the coin in it. If you guess correctly…I will do what you asked. I'll set-up your match in the final block against Zerath Stark."

Destiny had a feeling that Ashton, being the man he was, would have something up his sleeve in a moment like this. And remembering what he had done with Pyrrha during her match, she suspected he would use his semblance in foul play if he didn't want her to win. So, she was at a disadvantage no matter what she chose to do…but she had to hope he was a man of his word anyway and chose what the most likely option was to her.

"The coin isn't in either one of your hands. Ashton you're a lazy man, in some ways, so if I were to guess…you used your semblance to move the coin back into your pocket as you were moving it around. As such, saving you the time to put it back there and to try and make me guess incorrectly. I know you are simply trying to protect me, as all people do for others with a good heart, but I am not a weak little girl Ashton. So I plan to be in that final bracket against Zerath Stark..."

"…have a goodnight." With that, Destiny simply started to walk away into the darkness of the stadium and away from the man in question.

Ashton started to laugh, amazed that he was read so easily by someone who he had never met before. And yet, she knew he would try and trick her into losing. It left a smile on his face.

The soft clicking of a cane resounded off the walls as Ozpin made himself known. He walked up to the announcer, his old friend, and glanced down the corridor Destiny disappeared in.

"Well, this is interesting. I wonder just what she has planned." He pondered stoically, glancing at his friend.

Ashton shrugged his shoulders and brought his closed fists back to his front. Gazing down at them, he turned them over and opened his hands, revealing a silver lien coin nestled in the palm of one of them.

"Maybe she'll beat him. Someone has to." Ashton sighed, flicking the coin into the air.

Ozpin smirked and caught the coin before it could land back into Ashton's hand, "Funny how she figured you out so easily. You need to work on your strategies."

"What? I don't know what you're talking about…" Replied Ashton, gesturing for his coin back.

"Simple." Ozpin tossed the man his coin and began strolling off, "She figured you out, you just transported the coin back into your hand to try and trick _me_."

Ozpin's form became shadowed again as he walked into the opening of the entry tunnel, his voice lingering in the air for a few moments.

"Damn it Ozpin! How'd you know?" Ashton called out, pocketing his lien.

A promise is a promise. Going into his scroll, he sent Glynda a revised version of the matches to be held that next day.

"Hey there sweetheart, I changed my mind for the matches tomorrow. The first fight will be Xera Stark against Ruby Rose, and the second will be Destiny Echols against Zerath Stark. Hope you don't mind this little change. 3" An amused smirk shot across his dimly lit face. With that, everything was set in place. The strings of fate have woven together plans set in motion and destinies to be unraveled.

* * *

**What is that monkey doing there? I have no idea, but it distracted Skyla with it's over whelming cuteness. Will she ever see that monkey again, who knows! But Jax brought back Chinese take-out, so everything's okay in the end. Oh well, you win some you lose some.**

**Most people don't focus on Ruby's incredible accuracy. She's a crack shot you know. And yet, no one really focuses on that. Have you ever noticed that she has yet to miss a single shot in the actual show? Even under harsh conditions and hasty actions? I know that she doesn't shoot that much, but when she does she's always on target.**

**Also, if you haven't noticed yet, I'm making bullets more dangerous in this story rather than how anime usually shows them off to be. So blocking a bullet with a calculated and precise slash of a sword will **_**not**_ **be performed by some unskilled lackey with a blade. Nope. This will be more realistic than that…to an extent.**

**Russel Thrush for example. He is a skilled dagger user and is highly proficient in the use of his weapons. So it makes some sense that he was able to block a few of Pyrrha's shots from her rifle in their team fight against her. Of course, her skills highly exceed all of theirs in the end but he still successfully slashed apart her bullets. Props to Russel, that takes skill and guts to do. Daggers a quick, nimble, and very precise.**

**Swords are another story. So I plan for Xera to need to go through a lot of training in order to do that with his own weapons.**

_**REVIEW!**_** Let me know what you're thinking. Anything and everything is appreciated. **_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, there's so much more to come.**

**Like next chapter.**

**Cya XD**

**B/N: Hey guys this is Demonic again I know strange to see a Beta note here but I just wanted all you beautiful sons of guns to know that I will be writing Destiny's fight scene against the powerful Zerath Stark and I hope you all enjoy it once it's finished! Oh and also that I wrote the ending piece with Destiny meeting up with Ashton I was debating on how the scene should turn out and that was it but it is true with Ashton's semblance he could always cheat with that game moving his coin from hand to hand so never make any bets with him since he will bleed you dry...MAYBE THAT'S HOW HE MAKES HIS BUSINESS DEALS! Alright all joking aside hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did and I hope to see you all again on the next exciting episode of Dragon Ball Z...wait DAMN IT WRONG CUE CARD!**

**A/N: I tweaked you're little segment, Demonic. Added in Ozpin and changed Ashton's responses a bit.**


	50. Dead Man Walking

**I am so sorry for the long wait. Yes, I know how long it's been. We've passed the 3 week mark…but for good reason. Guess what today is? Yes, it is 9/11. And I can't even begin to know how some people would feel on a day like today.**

**However, this is also the date when I posted Chapter 1 of XSRA's Flame. I can't believe it's been a full year already. Call it what you will, the 1 Year Anniversary of Flame, Flame's First Birthday…to me, it's just a nostalgic date.**

**And because of this realization, you guys get to read our biggest chapter yet. To top it off, I can basically sum it up in two words; Intensity…_Intensifies_.**

**A lot of time and work went into this one. So, _enjoy_ the conclusion to the Vale's Champion Tournament.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 50: Dead Man Walking

**3rd Person**

Nothing could prepare him for this day.

This day was too important, too necessary, too intense…

…

…the suspense was killing him.

It was the day of the semi-finals, and after that, the finals. Today was a big day for everyone.

But the man in the gold suite couldn't possibly contain his excitement.

"CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?"

Aero Coliseum shook violently, the stands' occupants roared with excitement, _he_ roared with excitement. Ashton stood in the light of the announcer's balcony. His glimmering form sent an ethereal vibe throughout all who cast their gaze upon his glorious image.

Glynda couldn't help but giggle at this man's ridiculous pose.

"Ah, my cause is pure. Looks like I've pierced the maiden's heart with my…_aero._"

The woman in question immediately found her composure and sent a death glare toward Ashton. Any normal man would've been crippled on the spot but Ashton held strong. His speckled eyes gleamed with excitement as he gazed back at the ferociously glaring gaze and into Glynda's eyes.

***THWONK***

"Ow! What kinda noise was that!?" Ashton yelped as he crouched to the ground and rubbed his head in mock pain.

"Just get on with it…" Glynda sighed as she lowered her riding crop. The fading image of a glowing hook on a chain caught his eye before he turned to address the crowd again, giving into the woman's desire.

"Thresh out of the way, I'm excited to announce the beginning of Aero Coliseum's Semi-Finals!" Ashton exclaimed, drawing all eyes to his gleaming figure.

A few seconds of stomping, applauding, and cheering later. "Now, everyone who has worked hard up until today has proved themselves worthy! Those who still stand should feel honored of their achievements they've made in this magnificent kingdom!"

Ashton turned toward the four competitors standing on the four separate podiums below.

Xera stood there with his hands in his sweatshirt pocket. His gaze roamed the crowd but never remained in the same general area for more than a few seconds. Admittedly, and unfortunately, he has made a few fans that are more than willing to scream his name at this point.

He would rather forfeit, but some things were unavoidable. Fate can be…very…forward with events that happen. Whatever can happen, will in fact happen at some point or another.

Next to him stood a hyped up Ruby, she had an awkward but comfortable stance from when the pillar first rose up from the ground. Destiny stood on the podium after Ruby's. Her wolf ears twitched every once in a while but she seemed to keep her gaze roaming as well besides to wave a few times when her own name was called some proclamations of love others just of fans. Zerath stood with his hands deep in his trench coat pockets. His usual piercing red eyes were closed and his head was tilted down slightly. His hair caught the wind easily and the tails of his coat fluttered slightly in the wind. Everyone was armed with their weapons in their respective holsters.

Honestly, a little warning would have been nice to hear. Instead, Ashton just called out the last four competitors and told them to stand on the four squares that appeared in line at the center of the large arena.

Once the four stepped into place, the squared edges disconnected from the floor and were then raised into the air. The rest of the floor shifted into a black obsidian like rock field and, from every visible crack throughout the black glass, different colors of light shown through like spotlights. The separate colors lit up the base of each respective podium for each competitor.

Xera's podium was bathed in a shining lime green hue. Ruby's, to her preference, was lit up in numerous shades of shifting red; almost like rose petals. Destiny's pillar was glowing with a bright pure white light, every once in a while the color would fade to red then instantly back to white again. Zerath's podium, which was at the opposite end from Xera's, shined a magnificent crimson red glow; mixed with swirling black.

The entire arena was much larger than when the tournament started. Thanks to Ashton's decision to activate the Aero Shift in the quarter-finals, the surrounding stands were split into sectors of four. Each quadrant was separated from the rest, and the adjusted quarters provided for a much larger fighting area.

"Now, let's give it up for the four competitors who've made it this far. Cheers to Xera Stark! The first fighter I've seen to wield bladed boomerangs and prove to be much stronger than he previously appeared." Ashton exclaimed.

The crowd cheered Xera's name and applauded, the screams and yells echoed off the walls. Xera's orange eyes were hidden under his bangs as he looked down, taking a new interest in the obsidian fields below.

"Alright, and let's not forget the youngest competitor we have ever had! The one with the scythe and the sniper and the cookie bandit herself, she's Ruby Rose!" Ashton continued down the line.

Ruby piped up to the sound of her name being chanted. She smiled proudly and she gave the crowds a small wave. At some point, her feet began to idly kick the ground as she looked back and forth between Destiny and Xera, as if trying to get the applause over with as soon as possible and distract herself.

"Yeah, let's not forget the unexpected summoner with incredible hidden abilities, Destiny Echols!" Ashton announced.

The crowds erupted again, yelling Destiny's name and throwing praise her way. Destiny fixed her glasses and let her eyes fall slightly. Her other hand gripped her skirt as she waited for the spotlight to shift.

"And last but certainly not least. He's a force to be reckoned with, Zerath Stark!" Ashton yelled out the name to the final competitor standing.

The audience applauded respectively, but otherwise nothing was screamed and no names were chanted.

"Peasants." Zerath muttered under his breath. Apparently Soul-Slasher has a self-image after all.

"Now, let's get this show on the road!" With those words said, the podiums lowered to the ground and the arena floor formed a pathway to the entry tunnel. The four competitors took their leave and disappeared from view of the spectators.

Just after the four walked away, the display biome dissolved and reset.

"Glynda, there is a…fourth tab there. Click on it." Ashton turned around and stepped toward the woman.

"It just triggered a command prompt. I'll need a password."

"That's fine." Ashton extended his hand and gently took hold of the scroll. Loosely, he turned it to face himself and rapidly typed in the access code. The screen tinted red, and the list of arena biomes transitioned to gold. "There. These biomes have a bit of…_danger_ to them. I just want to try something new for this round."

Glynda looked down at the screen and noticed only five options. "Why change it up now?"

Ashton grabbed his mic again and turned to the crowd, "Oh, it's a new design. Saw it in a movie recently."

Turning back with a smile, he smirked to the lovely woman and raised the mic to his mouth. "Ladies and gentlemen! Please, _DO NOT_ try this at home."

He held up the number three with his fingers and nodded his head, gesturing for her to select the third one down.

The expansive, and quite expensive, ground below became riddled with quickly forming sand. The dome above became tinted a mixture of gold, red, and orange. And as the sand began to settle, a jagged tower of black glass emerged from the center of the stadium, towering higher and higher until it touched the dome above. Once it made contact, it began to spin in a progressive rotation.

Once stilled air now swirled with force and power, all of it being pulled by the turning tower of panels and blades. Loose sand kicked up into the vortex, and soon orange lightning began rattling the stadium and streaking through the tube of wind.

As the tornado tore up the ground, tall rocks, broken pillars, and shattered ruins emerged out of the sand ridden ground; each one providing little to medium cover against the dangerous wind.

Finally, the biome was complete; a swirling vortex of a sandstorm and lightning, a storm in a desert.

Max would be proud…if he weren't so indifferently _mad_.

"You spectators are perfectly safe, thanks to the thick glass wall separating the stands from the arena. The competitors…well, good luck out there." Ashton addressed the crowd, his golden tuxedo whipping in the wind generated from the tornado of sand.

"Speaking of which…" Two tunnels down below slowly opened, revealing the next competitors in the line-up, "PLEASE WELCOME! The reaper, the rose bearer, the youngest leader ever in Beacon Academy history and the sniping scythe cyclone herself…Ruby Rose! A fan favorite here in the Aero Coliseum!" Ashton drew out the last word and gestured down to the first entry door, "At a tender age of 15, she not only devastated the accuracy rankings in Beacon's shooting range, but destroyed the competition _here_ with her trusted Crescent Rose and unbeatable speed!"

On cue, Ruby stepped out of her tunnel and into the rapid winds of the new desert. She twirled her scythe around, careful not to drag it through her cloak, and jammed the tip into the brittle ground in front of her. Rose petals gently whisked out of her flapping red cloak as she looked around at the crowds in the four quadrants. Her silver eyes perfectly protected behind red-tinted standardized Aero Glasses, and the front of her cloak fit snugly over her nose and mouth.

"And her opponent…" Ashton moved his hand through the air and gestured to the opposite corridor, "The Green Swordsman, blades as black as the darkest night, the strategist and tactician of team Sahara…Xera Stark! His quick and deadly boomerangs will surely blow you off your feet, but not as much as his impractical fighting style and entrancing eyes! He's soared through the competition seamlessly thus far! Let's see if he can do it again!"

Xera stepped out into the rushing winds and the shining light, sneakers skidding slightly as his light weight began to threaten his foothold. His green sweatshirt pulled against his body and sent shivers through the feathers of his hidden wings; wind ruffling through the soft layers. Hood flipped up and a black scarf covering his nose and down, his orange eyes scanned the sandstorm behind light green-tinted Aero Glasses.

They kind of reminded him of Oakley SI Radar Range Glasses. The pair even had similar Prizm TR22 lenses, but these were green instead of tinted purple. They probably still held the same technology inside the colors though.

However, what was really cool was that the lens had an on-screen digital radar scanner. Not one to track enemy movement, no. This sent a sonar pulse that sliced through the winds, and returned with a grid-like overlay of the arena. So you could see the ground, the walls, and the stones for cover despite the blinding wall of sand and wind.

Truly, this man thought of everything.

"This is so cool!"

_That…wasn't my voice. It almost sounded like…Ruby? Wait…_ "Yeah, definitely." Xera spoke up, seeing if the Glasses held any extra features.

"Xera?!"

_Yup._ "Hey Ruby." Xera addressed the mic and speaker somewhere in the frame of his glasses. A small mic symbol appeared in the bottom right of his lens. It lit up whenever Ruby spoke.

"Whoa…" He heard a gasp and a small bit of ruffling on the other end, "We can talk to each other. That's…that's awesome. But…"

_Yeah, I know._ "Why. Why would we need to talk to each other?"

"I can answer that for you." A chrome and glowing green orb hovered out of the tunnel and around Xera. Its loose paneled light grew brighter with every word. "It's not particularly to speak to one another, but more so for the audience to hear you. Also, wouldn't it be interesting to see how two fighters can combat each other and talk to the other at the same time?!"

_So it's for convenience, and a test? We probably were just set to the same frequency by accident. _"I guess we get to have a conversation then."

"Yup." Ruby's voice responded.

It was followed by an audible crunch.

"Cookie fiend."

There was a bit of sputtering on Ruby's end, "A-am not!"

"Remember when you stole my cookies?"

"You offered!"

"That was a delusion on your part." Xera let out a small chuckle and smiled, "I like my cookies."

"T-they…they were calling my name. I know they were…"

_Sure they were…_

"H-hey…" Ruby cleared her throat suddenly, "You going to finally use that mode you've been working on?"

Xera reached over his shoulders and grabbed hold of his guarded handles, "I mean like, I could…" He disconnected his blades from the magnet on his back and let the tips fall to graze the ground. "I never needed to use it yet."

The unmistakable priming of a bolt and the satisfying rhythm of a newly fed bullet into a flawless chamber dully transferred through the mic, "Then I'll be the first to make you use it." Ruby spoke confidently, and then slammed the bolt forward.

_You can try._ Xera thought as he looked toward the wind, "Good luck out there."

There was a soft silence as Ruby took a breath, "You too."

"LET'S DO THIS THING!" The observation orbs throughout the arena lit up, "Match ONE of the semi-finals starts in Five…! Four! Three! Two! One! FIGHT!" Ashton's voice broke the wind easily, basking the fighters in lasting tension, and the freedom to begin.

The muffled echo of a gunshot blasted through the rushing winds, quickly followed by an explosion of stone to the left of Xera. Ruby's bullet missed by a few solid feet.

_She can't see me, why shoot?_

A second shot, another miss. But this one was much closer.

_Don't tell me she's…_

***Bang!***

One of Xera's black strands of hair was sliced in half as a precise rush of whistling force breezed past his ear.

_She's using my mic to pinpoint my location! With each miss, she was able to recalculate based on the sound of the impact on my end! Damn it Ruby!_

Xera took off running to his right, keeping a relative distance from the torrent of air and making his way around. The rest of the desert was still swirling, just not as violently. It was more like a slowly moving whirlpool of sand clouds. The closer you got to the center, the faster the clouds moved; up until they started piling into a tower of destruction.

To put it simply, it was definitely hard to see. The only physical visibility range was about fifteen to twenty feet in all directions. Outside of that was completely blinding, for the naked eye. The addition of the digital grids helps map out beyond the boundaries of natural vision.

Using that, he trailed the wall and worked his way around. If he got too close, he'd probably be swept up in its current.

In about a few minutes, he was within range of where Ruby was; well, where she should've been. The area around her entry tunnel was devoid of a certain reaper.

_Whelp, I tried. You all saw it. _Xera looked around. There was no real way of tracking. The sand was constantly shifting due to the wind, and any scent in the air is constantly drifting in circles. _Time to wait for the ambush…_

"Hey, quick question." Ruby's voice came over the mic, "Where are you?"

"Huh?"_ Did…did we do the same thing?_

There was a rush of wind blowing by the mic before she responded, "Yeah…kinda went for the charge."

"Oh…" Xera looked back to where he had originated, "Same."_ Okay. Now, I wait…_

Another rush of wind, this one louder and more disrupting than before, blew right through the mic in another burst of feedback.

_She's probably going to use the wind to her advantage. Make her semblance even faster. _Xera took a lower stance and leaned against the flow slightly. _Shouldn't take too lon-_

The glint of steel barely registered, it was instinct alone that raised his blades.

***Clang!***

Xera was sent skidding backward in the sand, the curves of his blades digging into Ruby's massive swinging scythe.

A concussive blast rang Xera's ears just as Ruby pulled the trigger, sending her physics defying weapon into a breakaway and spinning it back around.

"You…" Ruby spoke before making contact with her blade, forcing Xera to parry it downward, "…will use…" She brought it around and Xera had to use the edge of his blades to stop it in its tracks, "…your new Excalibur mode!"

Xera pushed back against her assault and dug into the steel of Crescent Rose, "Did…did you just name my new mode?"

"Pretty much." Ruby had time to shrug, before pushing back.

Xera let himself lose the head on clash and fell back, dropping one blade to the ground in the process. Ruby quickly kicked the weapon backward, sending it into the whirling wind to get sucked into its vortex.

"You know, I kinda need both blades to do it." Admitted Xera.

Ruby paused, "Oh."

Xera took the moment to look past Ruby. Subtly, a small black silhouette sped past before disappearing into the wall of wind again.

He felt a little bad actually. Having to watch his blade be pulled helplessly by falsified natural forces.

Anyone could blame him though, it _was_ on purpose.

_There it goes again._ Xera commented to his inner thoughts, watching as his sword passed them by again.

Ruby broke the stale-mate and attacked Xera again, taking advantage of his lack of weapon.

Xera dodged and parried all he could, but the brute force behind Ruby's attacks was too much to fully block. Not to mention the speed.

Whoever said super speed was as fast as a speeding bullet was dead wrong. There are some people who can slice propelled metal in half. This?! This is insane!

_She's a cyclone, literally. _Xera parried her next strike, only for it to whirl around and strike again, forcing him to recover as fast as he could to dodge. Most of the time, he was fast enough to do just that. But with her speed, it was beginning to get faster with every swing.

Like she was building momentum from every deflection.

_I'm not getting anywhere with shortened swords. _Most people would think short swords are better against larger weapons. They're faster. A dagger could easily out class a great-sword through speed alone. Five slashes equates to one heavy hit from the enemy.

But if you incorporate bullet kickback and momentum, as well as a cookie fiend, then all bets are off. The big weapon becomes one that simply defies physics. It becomes as fast, and as agile, as its once overpowering dagger.

_Ruby? Just who is the crazed genius of a maniac that trained you?! _Xera began systematically pushing aura into his left bracelet in intervals; a second on, a second off.

He knew he needed an insurance plan. A way out, if it became too much.

Through the rapid attacks that he was trying his best to parry, he split his focus to pay attention to the exact moment his blade passed them. Each time, the interval of the blade disappearing and appearing would increase.

A few more seconds of taking hits, and his blade was right where he wanted it.

Xera brought his blade up to meet Ruby's next slash, putting all his strength to break her momentum she built up. The sand at his feet blew back as Crescent Rose tore into his Annivia's Talon. A storm of their own developed in a quick burst, dissipating as fast as it appeared as the two entered another clash.

_Three…_ Xera pushed back, trying to hold her in place. _Two…_ The two began losing their footing, both trying to push the other back. _One…_

…

_Huh?_

_I swear that was timed righ-_

In an instant, Ruby was suddenly slammed in the side by a passing sword. The sickening crunch that followed was as if it were happening in slow motion. Her side buckled into the force of the hit, and the blade continued to push forward.

As time seemed to resume, the sword carried Ruby's small form with it and disappeared into the blinding wall of sand.

Never to be seen from agai-

Oh there she is.

A blur of red and black whipped through the air in the outward column of air, the sword still burrowing into her side.

_I hope that didn't bruise. I'll have to give her cookies later…_ Xera needed to make amends after this. But for now, he had a match to fight.

On the second pass, Xera switched his current blade into its lever-action shotgun form. The flattened panels that ran down the spine of his blade, on its two straight edges, unfolded to open up the cylindrical barrel inside. The curve of his blade then straightened out and slid back to double layer the barrel.

Flipping the gun in his hand, the guard on his handle disconnected and swiveled forward on a hinge. The lever system kicked in and pulled the hammer back. He used the weight of the gun to rotate it back upward and slam in the next shot. The satisfying click sounded out as the handle reconnected with the lever in his hand.

_Yeah, this is why I like lever-action guns._ He took aim and fired a 12-gauge caliber burst downrange. The spread of metal collided with Ruby and forced her further into the current.

An eight inch handle can only hold four rounds unfortunately. But usually they were enough for what he wanted.

He reloaded and let the ejected shell get carried away by the swirling sandstorm.

The next pass would be much faster, so he had to be ready for it. Taking aim, he waited for any signs of movement.

Finally, a blur passed by and he paused.

It was small.

And there was no red with it.

"Why is it that nobody looks up?"

Ruby's voice tickled his ears in the moment before he lost his footing. More importantly, something very powerful was sent colliding into his upper body, throwing him off his feet. Thankfully, it was just the butt-end of her scythe. Not the blade.

The only glimpse Xera got was a flash of red, and a smirking Ruby. Her cloak caught the wind moments later and she was pulled with its current.

_I'd call her out on unfairness…if this weren't so ironic._ Xera sighed, rubbing the spot below his shoulder that was throbbing in pain. "You can fly now?" He asked instead.

"More or less." Ruby responded, gliding around and colliding with Xera again.

Xera was hooked in by the curve of Ruby's scythe and yanked off his feet. The two teens bounced off the sand and were then sucked into the main wall of the swirling sandstorm. Visibility was instantly reduced to zero. The only thing he was able to see was the hand in front of his face, and the deadly scythe slicing through the air.

He spun and maneuvered around the swing, letting it miss him by a hair. As it cleaved through the swirling sand, he noticed he could hear where the next strike was coming from. Blindly, he fired a shot into the mist.

It struck its mark.

Adjusting accordingly, he angled himself away and back to let her next swing whiff again. And again, he fired another shot.

Another hit.

_Alright, now we're getting somewhere. _He did the same thing again and let the blade pass him by. Things were looking good.

He was about to do it again, but the scythe stopped just as it was passing his stomach.

_This isn't going to feel good._

"Sorry."

Ruby uttered her apology as she pulled the trigger, causing an implosion of sand and air to meet Xera's shielded stomach. The impact round blew the phoenix out of the sand and sent him tumbling across the ground.

Digging his shoes into the sand on his next bounce, he found his balance and ground to a stop. _Damn it, I have to use it._

_…_

_She got me._

Flooding his bracelet with aura, he called back his second blade in seconds. The gleaming black sword streaked through the air and dragged itself out of its encasement of air. He caught it and immediately turned his shotgun back into its blade form.

This time, both blades began transforming in sync with one another. Their flat panels opened up this time, and so did the handles. The bladed guards retracted in on themselves, and the curve of his boomerangs straightened out.

He swiftly slammed his two swords into each other, spine to spine, and interlaced the panels and handles. The sword extended slightly, and a crescent hilt formed when his guards connected as well.

In his hands now sat a double-edged long-sword.

_Here we go._ Xera let some of his aura flow into his blade. It immediately blazed to life and burned through his affinity, covering his combined blades in a sheen of flames.

_It's a small amount needed to fuel the fire. So I should be good for the next ten minutes. _Xera caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eyes and turned to face it. Ruby dipped down to the ground and surged forward, bringing her scythe with her in a deadly cleave for Xera's lower body.

Xera jumped over the attack and adjusted to meet her next overhead swing. He let the scythe redirect off the flat of his sword and used the downward force to his advantage. His blade was bounced by Ruby's weapon. While hers was temporarily redirected, Xera spun his blade in his hands and turned the momentum of the parry into his own attack.

Slicing downward, Xera forced Ruby to back off and get away with only a few burns to her aura.

"Yes! I got you to use it!" Ruby cheered, squaring off with Xera and lowering into a stance.

Xera lowered into his own stance as well, "Yeah, I couldn't hold back. Not against you." He spread his feet shoulder length apart and slid his left foot slightly forward. Xera then held his left hand out in front of him while his blade was pulled back; pointing it to the side but angled down.

Ruby looked a little confused at first. That kind of stance would open up countless openings to land a hit. Why fall back on something like that? But, if she learned one thing from knowing Xera and how he thinks, looks can be deceiving.

"I'd say we both have just enough aura left to remain just above red. One decent hit and we're down for the count." Xera spoke over the mic, "How about a little duel?"

Ruby took a second look over his stance and inwardly smiled, "Sure." If she used her speed, she could meet him before he even started his swing. All she needed to do was hit him. That's all, and then game over.

"Okey doke. I'll let you make the first move."

His words hit her like a truck. "W-what? You can't be serious." That's basically giving her the win. No, that's essentially giving up before the duel even kicked off. There was no way he could react fast enough to counter her speed, could he?

"I'm serious." Xera nodded. _I've been meaning to see if my own speed could rival Ruby's. Is my limit the speed itself? Or is it just how long I can go for? It's the same semblance, kind of, so it's worth a try to compare it with the original. _He thought. He needed to do this. At one point or another, he would've asked her to race him. But this little test would be just as effective, and without the questions.

"O-okay." Ruby agreed to his terms and reversed her scythe, positioning the blade behind herself as she leaned forward; finger on the trigger.

Xera steadied his heart and flooded his irises with a sea of silver. This was it. Time seemed to slow as adrenaline began pumping into his system at a much faster rate. His muscles tensed and loosened to the beat of his heart, and with every breath he felt his surroundings grinding down to a slower pace.

He heard the clicks of Ruby's trigger being pulled back. He saw every flick of her hair as her strands whipped around in the wind. Her eyes locked with his as the two tensed like coils ready to spring.

Finally, the trigger was pulled.

Xera kicked off in the moment the bullet left her barrel. The sand beneath his feet buckled in on itself as it cratered from his lunge.

Ruby surged forward at an unbelievable speed at the same moment.

Streaks of green and red trailed through an ocean of suspended sand particles, the two seemingly running in a world where time has slowed dramatically. Almost to the point where the once swirling sands were halted in place without a speck of movement.

_So fast. How can someone be so fast…is it the cookies!_

Xera dragged his blade behind him in a tight grip, pulling it around when the two approached each other. Ruby trailed with red as she brought her scythe around and swung downward, her swing threatening to slice cleanly across Xera's shoulder and down. The speed she maneuvered out clearly dwarfed his speed.

Their eyes met in a confrontation of their own, as Xera's blade was pulled up even further; using all his strength to meet her body. His form glided past Ruby's lunge and slid across the frozen desert's surface. The tip of his blade dipped into the girl's guard and slashed across her arm.

Ruby's own blade grazed into Xera's passing shoulder, digging into his sleeve and drawing blood.

The two trails of colors blew past each other and skidded to a stop opposite the other. Sonic booms suddenly exploded from where the two streaks originated from, causing the suspended sand to disperse in two separate implosions.

The air cleared in an increasing area around the two crouching teens, expanding rapidly like a sonar pulse. In the next second, Xera and Ruby took a breath and watched the world speed up again.

Suspended sand suddenly tore at their faces in a resumed torrent of air. The clearing they created from the sheer force of breaking the sound barrier was filled up as fast as it had dispersed. They both fell to their knees; hand over where the other slashed them.

It was then that Ruby collapsed to the ground, aura dipped into the red.

"I don't know if the cameras got that recorded but it looks like Xera Stark has claimed victory! Oh man, you don't know how much I want to show an 'Instant Replay' of that collision. What a conclusion!" Ashton bellowed, causing the vortex of sand to slow to a stop; this time in reality as well.

Xera let out a deep breath and allowed his aura to start flowing again. His cut in his shoulder began to close and seamlessly sealed shut, dropping his own aura into the red afterward.

He was glad Ruby didn't hit anything vital. The only way to win that confrontation was to shut down his aura's defense and tuck it into his reserves. It was the only effective strategy to keep his aura from dropping.

Xera pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to Ruby. As he walked, he connected his blade to his back magnetic panel; still in its longsword form.

Ruby had already rolled herself over, and was currently lying on her back; staring into the dome above. "I thought I hit you too." She spoke idly, hand resting on the body of her scythe lying next to her.

Kneeling down at her side, Xera pat her on the shoulder, "You did."

She looked up, confused but curious. "How?"

Xera offered the girl his hand. She took it after a second and the two stood up together. "Your scythe cut through my skin, not my aura." He explained, giving the reaper a shoulder to wrap her arm around for support.

"Come on." Xera gave her a smile and kicked Ruby's grounded scythe into his free hand. "Let's get back to the others."

_Well, that went well. Results? She was faster. Much, much faster. She even got off the better hit in the end. Thankfully, I was able to stop a shield from automatically taking the hit._ Xera summarized in his head. It was a decent test. But Ruby is still the fastest huntress-in-training of all the first years at Beacon.

* * *

"Alright, I'm feeling a little majestic right now. How about a nice field to conclude the Semi-Finals?" Ashton asked the crowd shortly before the stadium panels began to vibrate beneath the layers of dust.

Patterns began to form and the moving synthetic dust began to spread out and cover the entire stadium floor. From that layer of dust sprouted dirt and then a lustrous layer of green grass and flowers. The breeze sent waves of reflective light through the blades of grass below, creating a relaxing atmosphere. Of course, that relaxation will soon turn to destruction.

"Give it up for the second round of fighters! The first competitor is the fierce and powerful beast tamer, her perception can rival that of Sherlock Holmes, not to mention that her multiple Watsons can all tear you to shreds! Destiny Echols! The only huntress I've ever seen that can play the role of a summoner!" Ashton announced and gestured to the first entry tunnel.

"And her opponent, you guessed it folks, his piercing crimson eyes can strike fear into the hearts of Guinea pigs! He's the Black Swordsman! Zerath Stark! He has quite literally destroyed his competition so far!" Ashton's golden coat blew in the breeze and reflected the sun's gaze as he proudly announced the final competitor to the next collision of intensity.

Destiny stepped out of her tunnel having not only Albus floating around her body but the mysterious black book that was strapped to her other leg also while she watched Zerath from across the field this was her moment to end everything so that Xera wouldn't need to go through the pain of fighting his brother as she watched his every move closely waiting for Ashton to finish his usual long winded speeches that she could care less about.

Zerath let the tip of his blade rest against the ground; the barrel keeping it from sinking in. The handle reached up to his shoulder as he held it out to the side. The familiar aura display orbs floated into vision and his crimson eyes immediately registered the pests.

"Those annoy me." He grunted, flicking his gaze between the two.

A sigh resounded the walls of Soul-Slasher's 'cage', "_They're only there to help_."

"Piss off." Zerath glared at the orbs again, "I can sense their aura levels just fine on my own." It's not like you need to pay attention anyway if you're killing someone.

"_Soul, you and I both know there's only one person here you need to reach. No casualties_."

Soul-Slasher grinned beneath the surface and tightened his grip, "Everyone here is so ignorant. We'll make this quick. You're brother's a dead man walking." Lifting his blade from the ground, Zerath brought it out in front of himself and angled it forward.

"I'll have his head after this."

Ashton's speckled eyes focused on the man below; eyeing him up and trying to hear what he was mumbling.

Picking up no words, he stored his cautious suspicion for later and turned to address the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen! Here we go, the final fight of the semi-finals starts in Five…! Four! Three! Two! One! Fight!"

White pages flickered and whipped open, soon coming to a stop and prompting Destiny to call out, "Freeze over the fears of a long forgotten past, Tohma!"

As soon as the words left Destiny's mouth, the arena became engulfed in a blitzing snowstorm; leaving frost and ice quickly spreading over the once beautiful field. From the whiteout, an unsettling roar shook the walls. It's low and ferocious tone sounding akin to an Ursa, and it pierced the haze of stormy snow with ease.

Over by where Destiny stood, a pool of ice cracked and shattered. It's center opened into a dark pit, a portal from another realm. From the pit of ice came a giant polar bear, and it immediately began running at Zerath. The beast was the size of a small house, and it had what looked like ice armor covering its body in segments. In its charge, icy eyes focused to no one but Zerath, it spoke in a voice that would send shivers down the spines of the greater populous.

"I will never allow you to harm _my_ mistress, prepare to be buried under a mountain of snow and ice you demon!" and without wasting a second, Tohma surged forward even faster; leaving a trail of ice behind it.

Zerath hadn't moved a muscle or even flinched from the imposing presence of the beast…yet.

"Pitiful, you are nothing compared to what I've faced before. And I was merely an adolescent at the time." Just to show off a bit, as soon as Tohma came within Zerath's range the white beast was immediately overwhelmed.

Strength is relative, but the sheer speed that Zerath executed was beyond human. A blinding flourish of black sliced Tohma's armor; sending her skidding along the ground with claws dug deep into the snow.

Tohma had slightly scratched his cloak with one of her claws. Somehow, in that brief exchange, she'd extended her own swipe and from the looks of it, it had to be in the last second before she was struck away.

It was a contest of dominance between two beasts. Things wouldn't be as easy as Zerath first thought. Both parties are going to be facing a force beyond the average.

Tohma growled and scraped the icy ground, chips of ice fragments cascaded to the ground as a plate of ice armor fell off from her shoulder. Behind the screen of glittering snow, Destiny took a more strategic position and turned to a new page. If she was going to succeed, she had to give this fight everything she's got.

"Wash away the taint and sins from the world, Nagga!" The words left her mouth and emanated power within her immediate surroundings. Almost as if her very words held their own presence in the world.

There was a swirling portal of water rumbling beneath a lake of ice. It surged with enough force to break the encasement apart and swallow the fragments in its whirling waters. From it, the groans of souls drowning out at sea could be heard. Along with a bone chilling shriek of something that certainly wasn't human.

Suddenly, a single head crashed out of the portal. It towered and hissed; fangs and flippers alike flexing against the bitter wind and biting ice. A second, then a third head came following the first.

Soon after the three reached their peak, a body with fins showing and spikes glistening rose from the torrent of water. This lurker of the ocean, queen of the lake, serpent of the water; a hydra spawned to devour its enemies.

Zerath battered Tohma away again and turned to the serpent. Its multiple heads locked onto Zerath and let out a sound that would temporarily deafen a human and mess with their center of balance. Hearing is a huge factor to natural balance, without it you get heavily thrown off.

Destiny was already prepared and had already put ear plugs into her two sets of ears before the battle even began. Her battle strategy was all planned out for the beginning of this fight. Water and ice, it was the perfect combination. The perfect summons to attack in unison.

"Tohma, ramp up the blizzard! Nagga, attack him with everything you have girl."

Tohma roared, frosty breath billowing out as the whole arena began to swirl even more. Visibility dropped drastically. What could be seen before disappeared in a mask of white. Screens all throughout the stands and cue rooms began broadcasting through the observation orbs' eyes.

On screen, Zerath was fighting off the three heads of Nagga. He knew the legend. He knew what would happen. Did he care?

No.

This was only another challenge. The adrenaline, the bloodlust, the rage, he fed off it. He lived for it. This, this was what he needed. This was what life's all about. And to further sate his thirst, he made the silent change to see just how far he could push this thing before it finally dropped dead at his feet.

And so, he sliced off one of the heads with his blade; then another, and then the last. Purple blood sprayed from the wounds and covered him in droplets. The thick fluid began to eat at his aura and steamed against his quickly cooling clothes.

Behind him, Tohma came charging and tackled Zerath to the side. But immediately after contact, the bear was thrown off and encased in a thick layer of ice.

"Be gone fowl beast, you'll have your turn." Zerath growled, kicking the bear over. He turned and strolled back to the flailing Hydra. It's headless stumps pounded the ground and whipped the air, spraying acidic blood across the arctic field. "Come on, get up and fight."

Nagga stopped and stood tall, necks reaching to the dome above. After a few more seconds, the core of each stump began bulging and solidifying. Soon, small miniature heads sprouted and grew exponentially. Two heads emerged from each stump, replacing the one that was taken.

Zerath just laughed. He chuckled, shoulders lifting and dropping as he stared up at the towering beast.

"Oh this is nice…" A sadistic smile grew slowly across his face, "For once, finally, a _challenge_! And from a little gray wolf." He began laughing again, like he was having the time of his life. "…but don't think something like this will stop me. Your creatures are nice, yes. But they lack drive. They lack the substance that humanity drowns in…"

"…they lack the desire, the craving, the lust…" He slashed the six heads apart once again, diving and leaping in between lunges. Six stumps fell to the ground once again. "…to _survive_." Zerath finished.

Letting Nagga regenerate, he brushed the sizzling purple acid off his coat and turned to the girl behind the scenes. "How about you come face me? Or maybe, I should come find you!" suddenly Zerath took off blindly in a direction.

Both his and Destiny's aura were slowly dropping from the blizzard. She may have been the one to spawn in the beast, but no one is immune to the biting winds and whipping ice crystals of a snow storm. But for some reason, Destiny's was dropping much faster; they were currently both in the low green, almost entering the yellow at this point.

Tohma, finally free of her icy prison. And Nagga, finished with her regeneration cycle. Both beasts stood still; frozen yet ice free, unmoving. Neither of them could shift an inch or even twitch to the smallest degree.

"Mistress, we can't move. He has done something to stop our connection!" little did they know Zerath had locked onto Destiny's source aura signature. Stopping the flow of commands Destiny was pushing out to her summons.

_All according to plan._ Destiny thought, internally smirking as she released control.

Tohma shattered into fragments of reflective ice, each piece glittering in the breaking sun as they fell to the ground and merged. Nagga melted away like water, liquefying into a small concentrated pool that took a new form.

From the haze of white, a shadow surged past where the two summons fell apart. As the blizzard finally cleared, Zerath was crossing blades with someone else. She was smirking, one hand embracing an icy blade. The other grasped the handle to a water-type hand canon.

"Well, looks like we were right sis." The flaring redhead laughed. "This chump can do some _very_ nasty stuff. Too bad for him, he's not the only one sharing a body." A mischievous pair of shining red eyes met crimson as the two clashed face to face, "Hello there..."

This new person, in the place of Destiny, had flowing crimson hair and an outfit that some might call punk rock. She was wearing a torn up black shirt with a skull on it, a few belts hung at different lengths from her waist; each with small spikes circling around them. Her legs were topped with short shorts that showed well-defined leg muscles, and bottomed out with metal grieves; like Pyrrha's boots except they were black and red.

She smiled and pushed back against Zerath. Her blade rivaled his; but fell short by only a few inches. The cross guard looked like an axe's blade. The two blades disconnected then reconnected in a forceful explosion of resounding wind.

From her other side, the one this new girl favored, a black book floated behind the redhead. It's pages tinted ash, but everything struck a strong resemblance to the white tome Albus. Only this was its opposite.

"Ohohoho, Fate?! Are we going to make this man bleed?! I think his blood would be so _tasty_…oh please! Please, please, please, please…tell me I get to eat that deliciously evil soul soon." The book hummed in a dark, raspy voice that oozed insanity. It's pages glowing red with every word. "He will taste so very nice, just like the other Grimm we have eaten together. Please, please, oooohhh…just let me eat him now!"

The crowd was going crazy at this point, seeing a new fighter enter the mix with a whole new fighting style. New weapons too, which just added intensity to the show of strength and epic combatants.

Fate charged forward, once more clashing swords with Zerath and smiling.

"You see, this is one of my many babies. Her name is Xenovia and she has a nasty secret." Fate smirked a toothy grin and let the light reflect off her beautiful icy sword. "I'm sure you are just dying to know it…but let's have some fun first." Another explosion of energy pulsed through the bound crystals of Xenovia and detonated against Zerath's black claymore-styled blade.

He was sent back again, this one really pushing him. He needed to split his focus. Turning on auto-pilot, Zerath turned his focus on this new aura signature emanating from this girl in front of him. Trying to set his semblance into action, he growled in annoyance as he hit wall after wall of resistance.

Pulling his trigger into a downward spin, he sent himself ducking some form of energy that came at him from Fate again. From there, he rolled to dodge the following few bullets. Hitting one of the patches of ice that Tohma had been leaving around the field, his boots struck familiar ground and gave him impeccable traction.

He moved quickly and dodged the next hail of bullets from Fates gun, which disappeared soon after that. Fate charged again, two handing her sword this time.

The double bladed edged of Zerath's sword rotated and folded upward against the scope on his barrel. He pressed the pommel of his sword against his shoulder, its shape specially built to simulate a light stock of a rifle. Taking aim, he shot for Fates chest and pulled the trigger beneath the hilt.

She was forced to shift her stance, there was no chance in dodging a high caliber bullet. So she resorted to block the bullet with the flat of her blade. The impact zone, which should've cracked or shattered, surged with another force of energy and spanned outward from her icy sword.

The wave of redirected energy was shot in front of her, blowing her back and storming toward Zerath in an arc of pale blue. Xenovia's power can absorb the vibrations resulted in heavy impacts and use it as a catalyst for its own energy. Each impact can quicken and strengthen its attacks in varying amounts.

The reflection of energy Fate dealt out crashed into Zerath and sent him further back in a skidding block. Fate dropped her blade into the ground and held out her hand; quickly the black book opened in her hand.

"Here is where the real fun starts with Noir. Like my sister, I am an infinite source of weapons." Black pages zoomed by as she focused her aura, "While she has her friends, I have my babies. Each one ready to help me defeat the people who stand in my way." She smiled happily and gazed over at her book.

"My baby sisters, you see, we are going to stop you now and get to the finals. This way, your little brother, Xera, will never have to feel the pain of fighting his family. Especially while you are controlling the body, Soul-Slasher…yeah I know your name." Deciding to reveal what she's been up to lately, she continued speaking. And Zerath let her, as if to show that he was waiting for what she'd do next.

"Destiny followed Xera on our few days off." Fate explained, "We have been finding a way to _separate_ you from his body. Even if we fail and lose the match, you won't have a single part in that final fight. So it can be two brothers reuniting, not spilling each other's blood! Either way, THIS ENDS HERE, DURANDAL!"

Zerath let Fate have her speech, all the while he smiled more and more after each heart felt word. How pitiful. After hearing that they were going to defeat him for the sake of two brothers, he nearly lost it. The target and his caged bird. That speech gave him the time he needed. He was using her speech to lock onto the signature of her aura's wave lengths, unfortunately it was proving harder then he originally thought.

Destiny was running interference from within Fate, stopping him at every little advance he made. By pushing her aura a little harder through their link, she was able to confuse his semblance just enough to buy her sister some time.

He would have to find the hole in the wall and dive deeper to finding Fate's true aura signature.

Focusing on deciphering the two sisters' mingling aura signatures, Zerath vaguely sensed what Fate was finally up to.

A solid orb of black light formed beside Fate, and from it appeared a blade surrounded by chains. She reached in and pulled the weapon free. It shined a beautiful azure blue with gold trimmings.

Suddenly, Fate charged forward dragging the blade through the cold air at speeds that shouldn't be possible. Thanks to his focus being split and her additional anime-like speed, she sliced across his body and knocked him back; cutting into his actual body this time and making him bleed slightly from his arm.

Slightly annoyed by this girl's annoying firewall on her aura signatures, Zerath brushed off the stinging pain and swung to meet her next attack. This was what he was hoping for after all, but it irked him that she was _this _good. He even needed a bit more power.

Letting most of his held back aura flow, he considered the weight of the situation. No one, in so very long, has pushed him to the point of having to unlock even a fraction of his reserves.

As Zerath's blood cooled and his aura roamed freely, his body began to glow. Letting off wisps of black energy, his blood red aura fluctuated and broke in different places. His menacing crimson eyes were glowing brightly, and he stopped Fate's next attack in its tracks; the exchange equivalent to a speeding car colliding head on with an eighteen wheeler. His sword bit into hers as he passively flooded it with his aura, pushing her back with great ease.

"I have to give you some credit, little wolf." Zerath muttered, stepping forward once more and forcing Fate back, "You've actually made me _try_ for once." He laughed bitterly and his smile faltered, nearly dropping.

"It's been such a long _time_…" He sighed, letting out an exasperated breath, "…since I've had a match against someone like you. But no matter who I fight, they always lose. So I hope you are ready to fail here today!" Zerath kicked Fate backward and charged forward with speeds exceeding what Fate displayed earlier.

Swords clashed and power struggles were made, the two seemed to be on somewhat equal footing for the moment.

Fate was just smiling; as the more time went by the more she had an apparent edge. It was beginning to show too, when they would disengage from a power struggle. Trying to make the other fall back, she was slowly coming out on top.

Zerath was starting to lose them. It was becoming noticeable. Whether or not it was due to Fate's power, or his focus elsewhere, didn't matter. She was winning. And she needed to keep it this way.

Using his rifle once more, he fired off more shots at close range. But with her increased speed, she was able to slice most of the high caliber rounds and change their bullet paths.

This fight's been going on for nearly an hour now, and the crowd had lost none of its enthusiasm. Even Ashton was keeping a trained eye on the combatants. Although he was more concerned with how it'll turn out; still excited though.

Small chunks of aura were being dropped from lucky attacks. Most of the time, it was just getting past guards and finding openings the other had made. Despite everything that's happened, their two auras were still in the yellow range. Fate's was fairly low, and Zerath's was mid to high.

Jumping back a long way, Fate made it look like she was running; and for good reason. She felt Zerath start to fight against her, meaning that he had nearly cracked her changing aura signature.

Landing gracefully, she pulled Destiny's glasses from her front pocket; causing her clothes to begin to re-materialize into the originals.

_"Tag out sis, now go and kick his ass. I got him tired for you." _Fate's voice was back inside Destiny's head, and control was switch back over to her as well.

The aura meter on Destiny's screen leapt back up to nearly high yellow, shocking most of the crowd and peaked some interest. Rapid replenishment of aura was not uncommon, but it usually takes great focus and smaller aura pools. But being able to regenerate a chunk of aura in a split second; that was impressive.

She and her sister were two people after all. So they shared two different aura reserves. Albus rose up from her right side once more and opened up; letting her read out quickly. "Blow away the clouds of an unknown future, Soarix!"

Destiny quickly followed up with a dual summon, "Incinerate all pain and oppression, Kimura!" There was a massive gust of air as clouds formed just below the dome. From them a giant eagle split through floating white forms letting out an ear splitting screech.

At the same time, the ground nearby cracked. From the webbings of mini crevasses spewed fire, steaming up the area with rapidly melting ice and snow. The screams of the damned tumbled out of the cracks as a large claw breached the surface.

The Cerberus hound of Remnant pulled himself free from the clutches of hell. And almost immediately, he eyed Zerath down. His burning body looking as menacing, and his toothy grin spread further at the sound of Soarix above.

"Kimura, mortar! Soarix, distraction!" Kimura dug his claws into the icy ground and opened his maws wide. Deep in his throat, fire and lava boiled together and released a glow of bright orange light. Tilting up, he began to fire out balls of molten energy towards Zerath.

Soarix was doing everything it could to keep Zerath in one place. It swooped in and attacked with its talons, it flapped its wings propelling gusts of air at him, it was able to hit Zerath whenever he wasn't rolling and dodging molten balls being hit by a few of them and burning away his aura and clothes more.

Taking small hits from Soarix, Zerath's aura was slowly witling down. Dodging everything he could, he charged forward and reached Destiny's helpless form. Controlling two summons put a heavy strain on the body, she couldn't do anything but focus on that.

Zerath slashed across her body over and over again, each pass bouncing back faster than the first. He kicked the girl's legs out and slammed the hilt of his blade into her stomach. Forcefully, she slammed against the hard ground and gasped for air.

He had figured her out. Her little trick was useless now against his semblance. Destiny's aura had nearly run out from that impact.

Ashton considered jumping in, right then and there. He moved to do so actually. But a sure hand to the shoulder and a reassuring squeeze was enough to stop him. "Let her be. Zerath signed a contract." Ozpin spoke from behind the eccentric man.

Zerath took a look around, watching as Kimura and Soarix fell apart into elemental bursts. It was a gamble to use two, but she needed to. And in this case, it didn't pay off. He ran a hand down his blade and laughed. "Is that all the power you can muster?"

Crouching down, he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Below him, Destiny struggled to gasp and inhale air from the blow she took to her body; still trying to recover but too weak to retaliate.

"Can you smell that?" He asked, basking in the lingering scent, "You're blood's still pumping. You're heart is keeping you alive, but killing you at the same time. Always rushing blood to aid you, but it'll still bleed you out in the end."

Zerath stood back up and swiped his blade to the side, "Let's see if I can push you to your limit."

Destiny could here Fate's voice screaming in the distance. Its volume deafened from the ringing in her head and the searing pain in her abdomen. She didn't react fast enough to use her semblance. And now here she was, staring up at the blurry form of Zerath towering above her.

Her next breath hitched and the sound of flesh tearing dully echoed in the silent stadium. The aura she had left diminished in an instant, leaving her with nothing but a sliver left.

Zerath stepped back and let his blade go loose in his hand. A small smile spread across his lips as he winced and coughed up some blood.

In the blink of an eye, Destiny had disappeared and reappeared in front of him. Looking down, he saw a sword buried straight through his body. He looked up in pain, only to see a fist slam into the pommel of the sword.

Its sharp metal dug into his gut, plunging it all the way to the hilt before stopping. The pain caused the sadistic swordsman to grimace, and for the first time, he flinched. The next thing he saw was a blinding fist, and then a moment of blackness.

Destiny's fist shook from the impact with Zerath's face, sending him flying across the field and off her sword. The black swordsman slammed into the wall with force, enough so to indent him into the stone. Before it reformed, he slid down the wall and fell to his feet.

His crimson eyes looked up at the body of the person who should be nearly dead. She was glowing a pure blinding white light with mixtures of red and crimson flashing through it much like his own. The slash mark below her chest had stopped bleeding.

Destiny...or was it Fate? She was glaring at him; he couldn't tell which one she was. One of her eyes was red, while the other was her normal lilac in color.

"Well, this is getting more interesting!" Zerath pulled himself away from the wall and used his aura to heal his wound; lest he start to bleed out. He noticed the book in the girl's hand seemed different than before. It was gray, not white or black.

"I don't know how or why, but I am going to use this power to stop you." Destiny spoke, slamming Zerath back into the wall, "We are one now, not two. But guess what?" She leaned in and pressed the edge of her blade against Zerath's neck, "I have all the powers like this."

Suddenly, Destiny and Fate backhanded the smirking Zerath. Sending him flying across the arena and skidding across the ground.

"I don't just see the future anymore!" She called out, speeding across the ground and reaching Zerath before he could even bounce twice, "I control it."

"Before, it slowed to a speed where I saw every possibility and could react. Now, there is only one future I see." She turned and brought her leg up, jabbing her heel downward and slamming Zerath's aerial body into the ground. "You are going to lose Soul-Slasher. Did you ever wonder why our names are Destiny and Fate? They weren't our birth names. Our souls were bound to our books, all thanks to the monster we call our father."

She jammed her blade into Zerath's gut, "He gave us a new name. _He_ called it our true lives. Well, I'll tell you this…we are the perfect duo. Destiny weakens and slows the ones we deem deadly, evil…corrupt. And she leads them to their destined fight against me, their Fate. They will live or die by my hands, and now you are under judgement." She twisted her blade slightly, causing pain to rip though Zerath's body.

"So, how do you want this to end? Will you continue to fight, or will you give up and become my weapon willingly?" As an answer, Zerath switched his weapon back into rifle mode and placed the barrel flush against the girl's chest.

***Bang!***

His last bullet shattered against her aura and sent her reeling backward; sword and all. He released his clip and let it fall to the ground. With deft experience, he drew a new clip; this one with a certain type of ammunition. He took aim and fired off a round which disappeared from sight after leaving the barrel.

Destiny and Fate's hair blew back as she reached up to pinch the bullet between their fingers; inches away from hitting them between the eyes.

"I told you now with my powers you're too Soulow. This world, and everything in it, I see everything as if it was standing still." Once more they disappeared from sight, reappearing behind Zerath to stab him with her sword once more.

Pulling the blade free, she plunged it back in one final time before kicking him away; dropping his aura to the point that one more attack would call them the winner.

In a traditional match, those are the rules.

But this wasn't a normal match anymore. The gray book in her hand opened to a certain page, bookmarked and glowing with forbidden energy.

"In times past, the souls of the damned collect, now penance shall be brought upon this unforgiven soul. Bound with chains, they shall be dragged to their repentance." The book turned around, facing Zerath.

Silver chains shot out from the book and into his body, forcing him to choke out a scream of pain as something began to be pulled from his body.

It was black and looked anything but human. The darkness of the soul dripped liquid black, falling and collecting at Zerath's writhing feet. It hissed and melted into the ground, dissipating into mist that surrounded the blackened form.

Zerath's sniper lifted into the air, his whole arm struggling to keep the barrel steady.

He fired off a shot that struck them in the stomach. The crowd had long since grown silent and unsure of what was going to happen. This certainly was a complicated fight. So much was shrouded beneath the lonely veil that was revealed to the spectators. Yet, not enough to understand the situation at hand.

Ozpin motioned to Ashton, taking a sip of his coffee watching as Destiny and Fate were ripping Soul-Slasher from the body of Zerath. "She has potential. Let's see if she can succeed." He stated stoically after his sip.

"Ozpin, even this is extremely risky. What if she's not enough?" Ashton responded, never daring to look away from the dramatic spectacle below.

The headmaster sighed and set down his cup; a handful of gummy bears taking its place. "Well, let's plan for the worst then."

Zerath's body jerked in every direction from the pull of the chains, constantly pulling and pushing in an effort to break away. His screams only intensified with every movement. All he could do was fire round after round into Destiny and Fate's body.

After the fifth shot, the glow surrounding the girl started to fade. Their vision began to blur with every impact, falling further and further into fuzzy colors. Eventually, all she could see were faded colorless spots of gray.

"Quit fighting and accept your FATE! You _will _join me and be imprisoned into this book! It's the only place in this world that can keep you contained!" Destiny and Fate screamed out.

A minute shot by and Soul-Slasher's spirit started to return to Zerath's body. The silver chains rusted and groaned; becoming rapidly weaker, almost reaching a breaking point.

As his soul receded, the glow emanating from Destiny was almost gone. The gash on her chest began to bleed once again, showing that the fusion was going to end.

Fate cut her losses and severed what she had from Zerath, letting the chains fully retract back into their gray book. Zerath fell to his knees in front of her; sword falling to the ground. As the pages closed, Fate's red eye dimmed and turned lilac. A moment later and Destiny's eyes closed.

Destiny's body fell forward; both her aura levels and Zerath's were in the low red.

Seconds passed, and Zerath reached to his side. His shaking fingers struggled to grasp the handle to his sword. Once he found his hold, he lifted the blade and jabbed the barrel into the ground. His other hand reached up and grabbed hold of its hilt to pull him to hit feet.

His eyes kept swapping between the colors of blue and red. Every breath he took was irregular and shaky, and it looked like his head was throbbing with the way he moved. He stood up and shook his head.

Eyes resting back into red, Zerath stumbled from the arena and disappeared into the tunnel closest to him.

From that very tunnel, a team of nurses were already running out with a stretcher, two of which turned and began escorting Zerath. The team had a portable IV bag at the ready, and aura stimulant serums loaded into needles resting in their pouches. They needed to save the life of Destiny and Fate.

Lifting the young wolf onto the stretcher, they carefully carried her out of the arena and to the nearest infirmary room. Medical staff at the ready.

* * *

Ozpin sighed as he leaned back against his arm chair, "Well, this is a predicament."

Uncharacteristically, the headmaster stretched out his legs. He did however lay his elbows on the armrests and interlace his fingers loosely in front of his lips.

Next to him sat Glynda in her own arm chair, a small round coffee table separating the two. And in front of them stood the eccentric man himself; Ashton. The light of the sun had long since faded and hid away. The once golden skies now replaced with twinkling orbs of light and the ghostly white shattered fragments of the moon.

"Yes, indeed it is." Ashton agreed. His voice lingered in the still air of the announcement balcony. Smokey puffs cascaded from his breath in the brisk night air.

"Should we delay the final match?" Glynda proposed; hands gingerly placed together in her lap.

Shaking his head, Ashton turned and looked out into the darkened coliseum. "No." He stated, walking over to the edge and clasping his hands behind his back. "Zerath Stark has already proclaimed to be ready for combat. He was released from our care just a few hours ago."

His silver watch glistened in the moonlight as he looked over the holographic screen. Two days ago, that was when the semi-finals concluded. Any more time would be pushing the limit.

"A fight to decide third place is out of the question." He continued. "Miss Echols has barely recovered from her fight. The stress her body went through was beyond the scales our sensors could even record." Ashton continued, turning around to look at his comrades; face to face.

"Not only that. But trace amounts of Aura Nullifying dust was found embedded in the wounds below her chest and arms."

Glynda reached down and picked up her tablet. Opening the most recent medical records, she flicked through the list and found a certain file.

"Pyrrha Nikos was discovered to have the same dust in her systems." She read off, flicking further down and reading the overview. "However, the dust was removed from her wounds earlier this week. The nurses reported Destiny Echols visiting her room at the date of accelerated recovery."

Reading further into the information, she continued.

"Accompanying her was Xera Stark and Velvet Scarlatina." Glynda read off, before she flicked back up and began searching for how the procedure was done. She quickly found the video files and began sifting through the recordings.

Ozpin hummed in understanding and looked to Ashton, "Has Miss Rose been informed?"

Ashton nodded his head, "Miss Rose was informed of Miss Echols's situation, but has refused to earn third place by default."

_Sounds just like her._ Ozpin thought, before reaching over and taking hold of his mug sitting idly on the coffee table. "Then give them _both_ the status of third-place."

Steam flowed into the air, dissipating near the velvety drapes above. Ozpin relished the feeling his coffee gave him, then took a sip from the hot mug.

"That…is a viable option." Glynda agreed, still watching through each of the video feeds.

Ashton clapped his hands softly and turned back around, "Alrighty. That settles the first issue." He extended his arm and gestured out into the empty stands, "And what of the final fight? Shall we allow Zerath Stark to fight in the condition _he's_ in?"

Ozpin set his mug down again and addressed the question simply, "He has already deemed himself ready."

"I know." Ashton loosened his tie and ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair, "And that's exactly why I'm skeptical about this. No one, no _human_, can recover from that kind of beating so quickly. In fact, not even a superhuman can recover this fast."

"Miracles happen."

"True, but not by works. This man, whoever he is, is something else." Ashton retorted.

"Hence…why we're collecting data." Ozpin gestured to Glynda's scroll and into the arena; suggesting the existence of an armada of observation orbs.

_Now I understand._ "Okay then…" Ashton relented. He brushed down his sleeves and pocketed his hands. Taking a breath, he stared out into his arena for a few seconds before turning back, "We resume the tournament tomorrow morning. Glynda, send out the updates…"

"…Aero Coliseum has a fight to host, and it'll be one to remember that's for sure."

* * *

**Boop.**

"You know, _usually_…I'm just gonna say it, no one responds to an official update." Ashton laughed, staring down at Glynda's tablet.

Glynda just sighed, a tiny smirk quirking her lips. "She likes to…entertain herself." She took her tablet back, closing out of the replied message from a certain student.

Ashton kept up his chuckling and strolled over to the balcony, "Okay folks! Some crazy stuff went down two days ago and sent the tournament into a slight delay. But enough with the formalities, we're all here to see some kick ass fighters clash head to head!"

The crowd responded with a roar, reinforcing Ashton's inner pride and self-image.

"Heh, that gets me every time." He muttered to himself 'off-mic', then addressed the crowd once again. "Yes, that's right! The finally is here! The final two combatants are ready to battle it out for the title of Vale's Champion! They've climbed the ranks and deserve nothing less than glorious celebration!" Ashton yelled out.

Sometimes, he'd dream of the grand halls in Valhalla.

Glorious dreams, they were.

"Moving on! Because of time constraints, let's just get this finally under way! The awards ceremony will be scheduled later." He made a grand gesture to the crowd; arms extended wide and chest held high. "Now, let's get this arena into a biome fit for this epic conclusion!"

He turned and winked at Glynda. An unmissed cue that she certainly noticed, and made the split second decision to reprimand the man for it…later, of course. For now though, she flicked through the tabs and opened a list of biomes.

"Just close your eyes, and hit shuffle. Oh how I love that button." Ashton smirked.

_Oh how much you'll pay for acting like that._ Glynda had scenes playing through her head already; all the ways to make a man scream.

As always, she hit shuffle anyway.

Rhythmic vibrations shook the tiles below, quickly engulfing the black panels in a sea of synthetic dust. Music blasted though the speakers, deafening the pillars in a haze of thumping beats. Down below, the mounds grew and danced to the sound of the music.

Frequencies and shifts in tone brought the dust into organized sections. Whenever the beat dropped, the synthetic dust did as well. When it quickened, polygonal structures formed and rose into the air.

A show within a show, that's how Ashton liked it.

Within a few minutes, the dust merged towering patterns and bending bridges to connect and expand even further. With every passing second, the land slowly formed and grew; a literal time-lapse of the beauty of nature, all playing in reality and under the noses of all of Vale.

Mountains, trees, valleys, ravines, all of the above. They grew and spanned upward in a magnificent display of music and flashing lights.

Rocky mountains surrounded the inner valleys on all sides, creating a range of walls and forming a natural bowl. Down the center of the valley formed a massive crack, this stretched and fell apart forming a deep ravine. The split cut the entire valley in half. On both sides of the separation of the ground, forests grew from the ground.

Trees sprouted in dense quantities, they grew denser the further away from the center. And at the middle of the entire arena, flat grassland appeared; free of any trees. It was a circle of paradise, surrounded by a barrier of countless trees.

Rickety rope bridges drooped across parts of the ravine. Three of them, one centralized and the others out at the far ends.

"Let me say this again, because it never gets old. Welcome! To Aero Coliseum!" Ashton exclaimed. The biome below a perfect representation of nature's finest. A collection of numerous arenas, all merged into one.

As the crowd responded in full, the final moments of biome creation ticked away.

Even Destiny was slightly impressed as she watched the broadcast in her infirmary bed. A 24/7 nurse positioned by her side to keep her from trying to escape again. Giving up on getting out of her hell hole, the wolf-faunus could only grip her sheets and wish she could've done more.

Velvet certainly has her work cut out for her, especially with their last encounter fresh in her mind.

In the arena, at the base of two mountains opposite each other, the rocks crumbled apart and revealed tunnels running straight through. From those tunnels emerged the two combatants.

Black and green, an incredible combination.

"Over in one corner, we have the heavily skilled wielder of a hefty blade, he's a sniper at heart and has the darkened soul of a swordsman, he's the annihilator of this entire competition! _He's_ Zerath Stark!" Ashton announced, gesturing to the tunnel on the right. "Can you believe it folks?! Brother versus Brother, Mono y Mono, a clash of siblings!"

Below him, Zerath stepped out into the light; looking a little worse for wear. His trench coat had slight burn marks from where hydra blood was spilled and singes from the balls of fire that managed to graze him, as well as a few tears appeared in other places, and his face was contorted into an annoyed scowl.

"Humans, so frail. So breakable. Why must you be so easily beaten?" He asked no one in particular.

_"Hey, don't dis the humans. We've survived this long haven't we?"_

"If I had my way, that'd be a different story." A sickening grin spanned across Zerath's features as Soul retested the bonds of their merged souls.

"Those days have long passed though." His smile dropped and his voice was slightly akin to…reminiscence?

How old was this guy?

_"You know, I'm pretty sore. Why don't we sit this one out, not everyone is inhuman like you?" _Zerath joked in his head, mentally nudging Soul with his metaphorical shoulder.

"Ah uh…dark entity. Get it right." Soul-Slasher retorted.

Seriously, Zerath was feeling pretty weak. After what that wolf-faunus pulled, he was glad he wasn't torn to shreds. But maybe, just maybe, that slight separation increased his chances of _total_ separation.

Drawing his sword, his rested it against his shoulder and looked around at his surroundings.

"Now! Please welcome to the stage!" Ashton continued, instantly grabbing the attention of the crowd again. "The player to beat, he has never let us down, he's resourceful and tactical, _he's_ the hooded blade of team Sahara! Xera Stark!"

"Flawlessly, he has climbed to the top of this tournament. Always finding a way to turn things around, he sneaks past his haunting opposition and deals fatal blows where ever he can!" Ashton gestured to the tunnel on the left where Xera stepped into the light. "Let's see if he can win this battle, and claim the title of Vale's Champion!"

* * *

"I know this is going to sound cliché, but be careful out there." Blake pulled the green hooded swordsman into a brief hug; for both good luck, and reassurance.

"I will, you know that. Let's hope it doesn't turn out like before." Xera replied from inside the embrace.

Leaning back, Blake pulled away and looked him in the eyes, "Before?"

Her eyes were strangely entrancing, even as they narrowed into a slight determined glare. Was she happy about this match up? Nope, nadda, no way.

Has she accepted it yet? Of course…not.

Was she digging for insurance?

Yes.

"Well, yeah. We've fought before, back when we trained under the wing of our mom." Xera responded, immediately breaking the eye contact the two had.

The tension in the air lessened a bit, leaving room to hear the muffled cheers of the crowd at the other end of the tunnel.

"At least you know his style then." Blake finally spoke, finding comfort in the slight advantage.

Even if both combatants had that knowledge.

"Y-yeah, let's go with that." Xera responded unsurely, rubbing the back of his neck.

Blake's cat ears twitched and she narrowed her eyes again, finishing the sequence with a slight tilt of the head. "You don't sound confident. In fact, you sound like you've already lost."

Shrugging his shoulders, Xera stepped back a bit. "It's not about winning or losing. It's just…I've sorta…"

He trailed off, hands finding their ways into his pockets again.

Blake stepped forward to meet his gaze again, prompting him to continue with a slight smile.

Taking a deep breath, Xera looked away and continued, "I've never won a single battle…against my brother. And that was before his…dark upgrade."

"Oh." Realization dawned on Blake. That…wasn't reassuring at all to hear. Maybe it was just a strength advantage. At their young ages, obviously the older brother was more skilled in combat. That had to be the reason, right? That's enough to know that this next battle isn't already decided.

"You still have a chance. Just, play it safe." Blake countered.

_Play it safe…I can do that. It's not like this is an anime. I'm not going to beat an opponent like Zerath head on with simple determination and a shining weapon. I need a contingency plan._ Xera nodded and pulled the black haired beauty into a hug. "Sure, I can do that."

Putting on the wicked cool green tinted glasses he got to keep, he gave Blake a final smile.

"Time to go dance with the devil." He spoke, hints of determination lingering in his voice.

Uncharacteristically, Blake smiled and giggled quietly, "Yeah, you do that."

Before he left, he leaned over and kissed the girl's cheek. The chaste moment lit a fire in Blake's heart and heated up her face. An instant blush spanned across her cheeks. And to further the girl's bewilderment, Xera went a step further.

"I love you."

Eyes wide, she snapped out of it and noticed Xera was already gone. His silhouette was standing in the opening at the end of the tunnel; inside the arena.

_T-that was a f-first. H-he…he never does that. _Blake thought subconsciously, not even realizing her hand rising to rest her fingers on the point of impact. _Oh great, now I'm stuttering in my head._

_Why, just…why can he do this to me?_

Amber eyes noticed Xera's eyes; glinting in the sun. His gaze looking back at her from over his shoulder, irises pink and clear as day behind his tinted frames.

_I love you too._

* * *

Xera unmuted the mic in his firing range glasses and looked around. They were functional shades, useful beyond belief.

Even though it was only just a few functions, it was still pretty cool.

Drawing his long-sword, he decided to start with this heavier mode, he reflected the sun's light off the polished black metal and flourished it around. Testing a few swings, he got used to the weight and pull of the sword with each swipe.

"Any chance you can play some music? My ear bud cords got sliced in my match with Rideat." Xera asked, looking up to the man in the white business suit.

Ashton met his gaze and turned to competitor number two, "Do you mind?"

"Does it look like I care?" Zerath's voice grumbled through the mic, his own red tinted glasses picking up his voice.

"Brilliant, let's do it!" Ashton smiled, disappearing in a flash of light.

Xera stepped to the side and pulled out his scroll. He slid it open and opened his music app. No sooner had he done that did Ashton appear in front of him in a flash of white light. The effect made his white suite that much more blinding.

"It's already set to a good playlist." Xera explained, handing his scroll over.

Ashton nodded and gingerly took the scroll into his hand, "I'll take good care of it. So don't worry."

In another flash of light, Ashton was gone. Seconds later, music began to play through the speakers located throughout the stadium. It even played through the floating shiny orbs flying around; their green lights intensifying to the beat of the songs.

"Starset, nice choice." Ashton complimented Xera's taste in music, before stepping back into the light of the balcony. Behind him, Xera's scroll sat on the coffee table; synced to the Aero Sound System.

"Now, enough talk. Let's get this fight started!" Volume rising, he pointed to the stands and called out, "Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

"Let the finally…BEGIN!"

Kicking into action, Xera sped off into the thick forestry and disappeared into a sea of wood and leaves. The canopy above instantly shaded away the sun; occasional breaks in the leaves cascaded rays of sunlight down to the forest floor.

Trunk after trunk blurred by as Xera sprinted through the thicker half of the woods. Making his way around, he tracked the edge of the forest all the way to the furthest edge and caught sight of the bridge.

_He'll be waiting for me. Should I risk it? _Xera bounced on the balls of his feet, torn between staying hidden or crossing to the other side. _Risk it for the biscuit!_

Diving out of the trees, Xera swiped his blade through the air and connected with something solid. The object split and blew threw two of the trees behind him; blasting dusty bark in two directions.

_No way, did I just do that?_ Still running, Xera kept his pace. A second shot echoed off the mountain sides, signaling another swipe.

Maybe he could get lucky again.

Metal drilled into Xera's aura-clad leg and shattered into shrapnel.

_Nope, I'm not that lucky._ A third shot rang out and Xera quickly slid to his knees, letting a third bullet graze past his chest and strike the rocks beyond the trees.

Almost there.

A fourth shot rang out across the valley.

Leaping into the air, Xera flipped and landed on the post to the bridge; bullet whipping past and only grazing his side.

Jumping down, he ran across the wood taking light and quick steps. As he ran, another shot resounded off the walls. He noticed the glint of something in the distance, within the tree line. _Found you._

After noting where Zerath's scope reflected the light, the phoenix turned back to what he was doing and immediately realized one of the ropes snapping. It untwined and unfurled in an explosion of fibers as a high caliber bullet ripped through its core.

_Just…a few more…steps…come on!_ Xera leaped into the air just as another loud concussion shook the trees; a moment later the last support rope was torn to shreds at its base.

The bride collapsed below Xera, falling backward as slowly as he flew forward. The adrenaline making it seem like it was happening at a cognitive speed.

A jagged edge with a grassy outcrop came into view and Xera dug his sword into it. Just over it, he could see the forest and trees. Below him spanned a deep deadly ravine. And behind him crashed the dangling wooden bridge; its wood clattering against the rocky wall of the opposite side.

Thankfully, his sword didn't immediately give way and lose all leverage. However, it was slowly eating away at the stone that held it in place. Its corrosive nature was betraying its usefulness, for the moment.

Quickly, Xera pulled himself over the ledge and immediately through himself into a combat roll. Just in case a bullet was waiting for him.

To his relief, there wasn't.

But to his dismay, something much worse was present.

Rolling to his feet, Xera stood up and entered his stance he used against Ruby; sword slightly tilted away and downward, feet shoulder length apart with one slightly forward.

It was his favorite single blade stance.

In front of him, about twenty feet away, was Zerath. Clad in black, his boots thudded softly against the grass as he approached the teen. His own black sword extended to the side, and his gaze menacingly locked onto Xera.

Fifteen feet now, and he still didn't stop.

Xera tensed, ready to dodge or attack. Anything, he was ready for it.

Ten feet now, and his combatant finally came to a stop; his boots resting on the ground in a balanced but straight stance.

"You know what I've always loved about swords." Zerath began to speak, idly swinging his large blade in front of himself. Never once did the sharpened edge point too far away from Xera. "They become a part of you; an extension of yourself." He smiled bitterly and ran a hand over his blade.

"Aura has the same concept. It's so simple and yet…" He pointed his sword to Xera, "…humans are too naïve to see it."

Xera leaned sideways a bit, ready to roll if he pulled that trigger, "Hey, don't dis humanity. Its survived this long, hasn't it?" He replied, unsure to engage in conversation or confrontation.

Zerath chuckled, letting the tip of his blade fall, "Just like your brother. But that doesn't matter; humanity can't see the potential of aura. It's the literal manifestation of a soul, converted into contained and concentrated regenerative energy. Do you know...?" Zerath extended his arms and addressed the world, "…what you can do with that?"

Xera suddenly knew where this was leading. And there was no way in hell he was going to let Soul-Slasher reveal this kind of information.

Surging forward, Xera slashed Zerath's blade upward and dragged his edge down across his brother's chest. He slashed diagonally as he entered and exited Zerath's guard, blowing past him and slashing across his back.

Slightly annoyed, Zerath pulled his trigger and rocketed the pommel of his sword backward; catching Xera in the shoulder. The force threw the teen off balance and couldn't adjust in time to dodge the blinding slash of Zerath's large sword.

"Let me finish." Soul cracked a toothy grin as Xera hit the ground.

"That's not something either of us like to talk about." Xera responded, spinning around and sweeping the legs out from under Zerath. He then bashed his crescent hilt into Zerath's head on his was down.

The two instantly rolled away from each other and stood up again, swords angled outward in opposite directions.

"Oh? Really now? How intriguing." Zerath stepped forward, prompting Xera to do the same. "And why is that?"

Xera didn't care to answer the demon's taunt. If he was truly merged with Zerath, then he'd know why. It almost killed them, both of them.

But that was five years ago.

"Enough." Xera responded instead, bathing his blackened sword in a cloak of fire. The two stood still, eyeing each other up as if they were silently measuring the other's abilities.

Neither moved.

Zerath began to grow wary, something was off.

A sudden searing pain shot through his gut as the cold steal of a blade crashed into him. Xera's form finally disappeared, and somehow reappeared in front of him; sword swinging.

_Finally! Oh man, I've missed this feeling. _Xera took another swing then ducked into deception again. He watched as Zerath slashed straight through his holograph and hit nothing but air.

Maneuvering around, he repositioned and slashed across Zerath's back in a non-aura enforced swing; lest he lose invisibility by rerouting needed aura into an attack.

This time, Zerath turned and immediately swung toward Xera. A loud metal clang pierced the air as Xera's invisible body was revealed.

"Clever trick. Not clever enough though." Zerath pushed against Xera's blade, only to phase forward and through it.

A heavy kick sent him tumbling forward, completely through the hologram and rolling to his feet.

"You were saying?" Xera asked, reappearing again.

Zerath turned around and fired a shot through Xera's head, the bullet crashing into the trees beyond the ravine behind him. He simply sighed and swung to the side, clashing blades with a mid-swing Xera.

"Naïve." Xera appeared just in time for Zerath to round house kick away. "Ignorant." The black swordsman sped forward and slashed downward, throwing Xera into the ground, "Weak…you can word it however you want. Humans have no place in a world of darkness."

Zerath stood over Xera, sword slowly lowering down and sealing its barrel against Xera's chest; in line with his heart.

"You see, once you understand…you begin to realize, just what we're truly capable of." He pulled the trigger, sending a burst of force in all directions. The bullet pounded against the aura covering Xera's chest, and shattered from impact.

"It's time to show the world, _little brother._"

Xera grit his teeth at the disgust he felt in those words. He gripped his sword tightly and slammed his pommel into Zerath's barrel, throwing it to the side to shoot the ground.

Dirt and stone blew form the impact as Xera kicked at Zerath's outer leg, forcing his stance to widen. Forcing himself to his feet, he jumped and planted both feet into Soul's chest; kicking him with his full body weight.

Which wasn't much, but it was enough to send Zerath skidding backward.

Finding his footing, the black swordsman slid to a stop and sprinted forward, ramming his blade down against Xera's. The two entered clash after clash, metal biting into metal as they collided. With every twist, every turn of the blade, sparks flew and strikes were made.

Eventually, Xera started to lose ground in each encounter. Every time, he'd be pushed back more and more from the clash.

He needed to do something, and fast.

In the next encounter, he put all his force into a single hit. He parried Zerath's blade upward with enough force to throw the guy off. In the next few seconds, Xera flipped and spun to the weight of his blade.

Taking a page out of Ruby's book, he used the momentum of every slash to power the next. Quickly, he gained speed and power for every burst of attacks. Getting as many hits as he could in, he was finally blocked by Zerath's lowering blade; instantly halting his momentum.

"We both know you can do much…much more than that." Zerath let the cold steel of his blade grind against Xera's.

Wait, cold?

Now that Xera looked at it. Zerath's blade wasn't coated in orange dust anymore. It was shining blue, and froze the air around it ever so slightly.

"I guess I'll just have to squeeze it out of you." Soul stated sadistically, before slashing forward.

His entire body glowed red with aura; strands of it whipping out and slicing the air in clusters of crystals. Beneath his boots, the grass began to frost over; the ice quickly spreading to cover the entire valley around them.

Zerath's sword crackled and shook, slowly becoming encased in a shield of ice. Its bladed edges became sharper with every layer of ice; the tip to its barrel the only thing remaining ice free.

Surging forward, Zerath drove his ice ridden sword home by slashing it across Xera's shoulder. He didn't even have time to react to the sudden attack. Then next came just as fast, ripping into his arm and down across his stomach.

Blood froze over from every strike, causing searing pain to course through Xera's nervous system form every cut. Lifting his blade up, he redirected the next attack downward. But almost immediately, Zerath pulled the trigger and sent the tip recoiling back upward; slashing up Xera's stomach and chest.

_Damn it._ Xera backed, but Zerath followed his every move. In an effort to dodge the next swing, Xera ducked to the side; only to be met with a hard knee to the forehead.

"Come on kid, fight."

Xera parried the next two slashes, but took the third and forth to the leg and side. With every attack came a second, meaning he'd have to block twice for every swing. That didn't even account for the punches and kicks Zerath would dish out in between moves too.

"Fight!"

Trying his best, Xera slammed the next downward slash away and plunged his sword forcefully against Zerath's stomach. The clang sent a resounding ripple down Xera's arm muscles and sent aches down his spine.

It was like stabbing a brick wall with a dulled sword.

"FIGHT!"

Zerath slashed horizontally across Xera's chest, and then brought it back rapidly for a second consecutive slash.

The pain was excruciating. What Xera thought he felt from Rideat's point blank burst of frost was nothing to being torn apart by an icy blade. The next thing Xera saw was the glint of ice, and something crashing into his gut.

Looking down, he saw Zerath's boot crushing his abdomen and throwing him off his feet.

…

Straight over the edge of the ravine.

Xera's form disappeared into the blackness of the crevice. The sound of wind tearing at cloth echoed off its walls as he plummeted, losing all sense of gravity and direction.

Silence followed.

No crash, no thud, no scream of agony.

The stadium grew eerily quiet.

The only noise that followed in the next few seconds was the crumbling of rocks and loose gravel. Each small piece echoed throughout the entire coliseum in their tiny impacts.

"All it takes…is a little push." Zerath smirked, stepping away from the edge.

Beneath his feet, deep within the ravine, a shining orange glow burst from the darkness. The blur of fire dashed up the walls at a calculated pace and soon reached the edge opposite edge. Mustering whatever aura he had to spare, Xera passively enhanced his jump with extra fire.

The burst sent him hurtling through the air and planted him beyond Zerath's waiting body.

"Oh goody, you brought the toys." Zerath laughed, amusedly.

Xera dashed forward and blew past Zerath. A neon orange streak of flames followed his every move; even his sword trailed with fire. A sudden burst of blood spewed out of Zerath's side as Xera readjusted and dashed again.

In a heated flood of wind and fire, Xera burned past Zerath again and melted any frost in his wake. A second burst of blood followed the attack as well, splattering the ground at Zerath's feet.

"Finally." Zerath took a deep breath, relishing in the scent of freshly spilled blood and the energy of a challenger.

His wounds closed faster than they were made and he charged forward.

Silver eyes met crimson as the two disappeared in flashes of blue and orange. Streaks of light coursed around the battle field, weaving in and out of trees and shrubbery only to crash into each other. The two drove through each other and occasionally bounced off the other.

The entire forest was a mix of frosted leaves and blazing wood, even the grass had patches of ash and ice.

Orange and blue broke apart from their next collision, both streaking outward to the far edges of the arena. Xera skidded to a stop at the slope of his mountain, and Zerath did the same.

900 feet.

Lowering down into a runner's stance, Xera leaned forward and dug the balls of his feet into the grass. His hands both rested on the handle of his blade and held it in a reverse grip; pointing it behind his right side.

Silently, instinctively, he and Zerath took off toward each other.

The silence was immediately shattered by the implosions of light and sound destroying the surface of the mountain sides. Rocks and stones tumbled and scattered from the craters forming behind the two combatants.

Trunks, stones, and sticks were dragged into the torrents of air whipping behind the streaks of light. Every step sunk into the ground, webs of cracks littered the valley as the streaks stormed across the arena.

Half way, and they broke the sound barrier. Sonic booms demolished the ground as the two elemental streaks of light sped up and collided. The central explosion from the head on collision sent the entire coliseum into a miniature remnant quake.

Pillars shook, stands rocked, people fell over and spilled their drinks. Half of Vale shook from the impact.

What was once a valley surrounded by trees was now a wasteland, half on fire half frozen over. Xera and Zerath were crouched in their respective zones, facing away from the other and from the impact zone. Zerath's layer of ice he had over his sword had shattered from the collision of blades, and its shards littered the ground in front of him.

Xera was breathing heavily, flames faltering and flickering out. Slowly, his fire subsided. He had used everything he had access to. The aura limiter within him stopped the rest from flowing out of him.

Raggedly, he breathed in and out. Chest heaving from the exertion he put himself through, he barely registered the crunch of footsteps.

_This is it, it's over. He's up, and I'm not. _Through sweaty bangs, Xera flicked his eyes to the side and watched black boots walk around him. The gleam of a black blade grazed the ground as the figure positioned himself in front of Xera; within striking distance.

_I hope this works. It's all I have left._ Xera coughed up a bit of blood and gripped the handle of his sword at his side. As quickly as possible, he threw the long-sword forward in a side-armed spear style.

The blade rotated through the air, tip guiding the weapon forward as it neared its target.

Zerath was sluggish in his movements, but he managed to half step out of the way and rotate out. The sharpened edge of Xera's sword sliced through the strands of his hair and grazed his neck, before flying past him entirely.

"Like I said kid, not clever enough."

Xera coughed again and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "Does it look like I care?" As Xera pulled his sleeve down, he revealed a glowing golden bracelet. The metal shining brighter and brighter, and in merely a second it was blinding to look at.

Every last available ounce of aura was just coursed into that single bracelet.

And the pull he could feel from the connection he had with his blade, was overpowering.

Before Zerath could react, the glint of steel reflecting the sun flashed behind his head. Instantly afterward, the pommel of Annivia's Talons struck the back of his head with enough force to level a building.

His entire body was thrown forward, colliding with Xera and throwing them both to the ground. Moments later, the light in Xera's bracelet faded and his long-sword clattered to the burnt ground.

For a second, his vision blurred. Colors melded. He pushed Zerath off and took off his shooting range glasses. He pocketed them and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear away the blurriness.

A few moments later, and things cleared up a bit.

The aura orbs floated into view and he noticed his bar was nearly depleted. And Zerath's bar had a sliver remaining. From the looks of it, it was a fraction shorter than his bar.

"And the winner to the Vale's Champion Tournament is…Xera Stark!"

The words were muffled, but he comprehended their meaning from the dulled screams of the surrounding crowd.

He'd done it. Whether that be because Destiny weakened him for his fight, or somehow he came out on top, either way he'd done it.

Standing up, he struggled and nearly lost his balance. Things just felt off. Like his gut was twisting and wrenching, warning him.

But from what? The fight was over.

To his side, Zerath groaned and finally came to. The blow he took to the head knocked him out momentarily and heavily disoriented him.

He rolled over, black clothes now ridden with ash as he rested on his back.

"Who was the clever one again?" Xera asked, stumbling over and offering his brother a hand.

Zerath gazed up with red eyes, staring at the hand stretched down to ask for his own.

Staying silent, he accepted the hand and was pulled to his feet; albeit slowly and with a lot of effort.

Xera patted him on his shoulder and began making his way out. Still, he didn't feel too well. His vision kept blurring and his hearing wasn't doing so hot right about now. And if his gut would just stop hurting so much, maybe he could begin to walk straight.

A few feet out, and he heard the sound of a clip falling to the ground.

By the time he'd stopped, the sound of metal sliding and clicking into place tickled his battered hearing.

Turning around, he was met with the sight of his brother. Rifle extended, lifted, scope trained at his chest.

The first shot silenced the entire stadium.

Xera brought his blade up and sliced at the bullet, only for his sword to pass harmlessly past it.

The bullet moved. It was subtle, but he saw it. It glided around his blade in a manor no bullet should be physically capable of executing.

His remaining sliver of aura disappeared in an effort to demolish this bullet, but the round was coated in a dark blue dust. It was something only unique to one brand in the world; Aura Nullification.

The whistling bullet tore through his sweatshirt and broke through his back. A geyser of blood trailing in its wake as it crashed into the revealed walls of the arena.

4 shots followed the first, all in rapid succession.

Two rounds entered at either side of his chest, puncturing straight through his lungs and blasting apart the stone wall behind where Xera stood.

One blew through the phoenix's shoulder.

The last pierced his heart.

Every shot forced Xera back a step, he had long since dropped his sword. It wasn't until the last shot, that the world grew quiet. His vision blacked out as he fell to his knees, blood staining his sweatshirt.

The world slowed to a stop, and Xera fell to the ground; limp.

Unmoving.

On screen, his aura level read 0%.

Nonexistent.

* * *

On the monitor of a large holographic screen, Xera fell dead to the ground of the Aero Coliseum. All around him, the cameras were panning around his body and the crowds; one of the monitors passed by the cue room.

The faces of disbelief, betrayal, rage, shock, sadness…

Fear.

The teams, all unfortunately associated with the phoenix, gathered together in one room to witness the inevitable.

"Huh."

An uninterested voice echoed in the office-like room. Two thuds followed as the man kicked his feet up and crossed his heavy metal boots onto his desk.

"I thought pitting brother against brother would've been more…exciting." He sighed, looking away from the screen.

The corners of the room were basked in shadows; but behind the veil of darkness stood a few observers.

"Well, that's finally over!" He clapped his hands abruptly. "Steven!"

The door to the office opened and in walked a simply clothed young man, his features dulled in the darkness of the room.

"Subject B2 will expire within a week. Tell me, is he worth keeping around?" The impeding man asked Steven.

"I don't belie-"

"Irrelevant!" The man behind the desk interrupted.

Reaching into a drawer, the man withdrew a small black box. Atop it sat a red switch, and within that a silver button. Engraved into its side were the symbols; B2.

Sliding it gracefully across the smooth black table top, he gestured for Steven to come over.

"The answer is quite simple. We finally got rid of the alpha of our problems. Now, eliminate the subject. We'd be doing him a favor anyway. That damned dark entity can't stop eating away at the host's soul." He leaned back into his chair and turned back to the screen. "We'd lose all control after that."

Steven followed his orders and picked up the little black box. He flicked the switch and readied his thumb over the button.

One more look to his boss, and he pressed it.

A few moments passed, and Zerath locked up on screen. He collapsed to the ground and his entire body jolted with electricity. His own aura level bottomed out at 0%, and before long the test subject stopped moving altogether.

"Whoa, Steven. A little much there don't you think?" The man laughed.

"I-I didn't…maybe it was calibrated wrong or…" The young man trailed off, valiantly trying to hide the button behind his back.

"Pity, it's a shame really. Losing both our original test subjects just like that." The boss sighed again, lacing his fingers in front of his face.

"Steven!" He called out again, "…it's time we execute phase two."

The screen flicked off, fading to black.

* * *

**Ah, finally. Done with the Tourny Arc. And now I get to fall back into less intense and more casual chapters. Phew, can't wait. Also, just as a heads up. For now, the next chapters will not be nearly as long as these last few have been. We're going back to the trusty 4-7k zone.**

**Destiny/Fate's fight concept was put together by demonic1556. I simply gave it a major overhaul and re-worked it to the point of satisfaction. Well, somewhat anyway. I hope it was as epic as we thought it was.**

**_REVIEW!_**** Please, tell me what you think. It means a lot. I read every review you guys post, and it's an indescribably feeling to receive your comments. _Favorite_ and _Follow_ the story, I'm not even close to done yet.**

**Cya XD**


	51. Dead Men Walk

"**How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, **_**however improbable**_**, must be the truth?"**

–**Sherlock Holmes in **_**The Sign of the Four **_**(Doubleday p. 111)**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 51: Dead Men Walk

**3****rd**** Person**

"Why?!" Allix exclaimed, much unlike her usual self. "Why can't we see him?!"

Pacing back and forth, she swung her arms in agitation and internally screamed in frustration; the sound coming out as a muffled grumbly whine.

"Hey, we're all in the same boat here. Let's just, try and not jump to any conclusions." Weiss recommended.

Allix whirled around, "Conclusions?!" She responded on the border of hysterically, "My leader… is dead. And the officials don't even have the nerve to let _us_… his _team_… see him. Or even _where_ they took his body." Emphasizing her words, she tightened her fists and threw herself down onto the couch next to Skyla.

The air in the secluded waiting room grew still with tension. An infirmary sign flashed with dimly lit red lights just above the cold door, and the white tiles below did nothing to help the growing frustration in all of team XSRA's heads.

"It's probably too gruesome." Yang tried to find an explanation.

"Gruesome…" Rex muttered, "Even if he has a god damn gaping hole in his chest cavity, we still want to see for ourselves. It's just wrong."

"It's cruel." Allix added.

Skyla stayed silent. She didn't so much as flinch when Allix impacted the couch, let alone listen to anything going on in the room around her. The world was hazy, the sounds blurring together in a mixture of background noise and annoying hums. Nothing seemed to catch her eye, or convince her to even think right now.

Her voice had long since given out on her. It left her.

This was an all too familiar feeling.

And she feels just as helpless as she felt then… back when her parents disappeared on her. Every night, she's convince her sister that they'd come back.

Like they always did.

What a lie that was. What a god forsaken lie, and yet… somehow… she kept it up for so long, that in the end, she started to believe it herself.

Even after the tears ran out, and the rivers dried completely, she made sure to look out for her sister. To convince her that even now, their parents could still one day show up.

And everything would be fine again.

She's taken it upon herself to be the strong one. To be the _happy _one. Even if anyone around her wasn't.

She'd cheer them up.

But now?

Where was the drive? Where was the reason? Why should she still lie to herself, even now. Her leader was gone.

Just like that.

"You're right. Something _doesn't_ feel right about any of this." Weiss realized, turning to the greaving portion of a team.

Yang joined her teammate, a passed out Ruby in her arms, and stood strong before her friends, "Yeah, we'll figure it out."

_Wait. _Skyla struggled to take a breath. _Wait. _She stumbled onto her weak, buckling legs and looked around. "They're not telling us something!" She blurted out. "It has to be, t-there… there has to be something."

Allix reached up and tried to take the girl's hand, but Skyla moved away and to the door.

"Ashton could've stopped it. Like he did for Pyrrha." She continued, starting her own pace around the room.

"Even if he could've, that doesn't explain how the bullet moved." Weiss countered, "It could've easily went around him. Ashton probably realized that."

Skyla huffed and shook her head, "I'm going to talk to him."

"You can't just-"

The metal door that completed the waiting room as a whole was ripped from its hinges in a violent show of frustrated power. It's surface crumpled around Skyla's converse and tore out of its frame, only meeting it's end inside the opposite wall of the white hallway.

Blake flinched under the sudden bang, despite her ears staying flat atop her head and beneath her ribbon. The usual silence that she shrouds herself in was quickly becoming unnerving for the rest of the teens.

"It was unlocked." Weiss muttered in a small, barely audible voice.

* * *

"Why didn't you stop Zerath?!" Skyla screamed/asked. The door to Ashton's office embedded into the wall, but still on its hinges.

The door stopper didn't stand a chance.

"Hmm?" Ashton asked, spinning around on his computer chair and addressing his unexpected audience. On the four monitors sitting on his desk, three of were playing scenes from the tournament while one was switched to a muted news channel.

"You know exactly why we're here!" Yang said and slammed her fist down on his wooden desk, causing the whole surface to jump.

A sudden bright light lit up the room and shone brightly into the eyes of the announcer.

"TELL US WHY!" Skyla screamed, portable lamp in hand.

In front of him stood an angry Yang, a pissed Skyla, and a drowsy Ruby who had just recently been put down. Behind them stood Rex and Allix, Weiss at their far right, and far off in the door frame leaned Blake; her eye's glazed over in thought.

Ashton sighed and turned off his monitors. He looked around again at the faces directed toward his own, and realized the intent behind them.

"I couldn't." He stated.

"What do you mean you _couldn't_?!" Weiss demanded.

Silently, Ashton raised his hand and hopefully silenced anymore outbursts. "I was _told_ not to intervene." He explained after a few seconds.

Weiss huffed and Yang flipped her arms into the air in exasperation.

"Of course." Weiss laughed dryly, "Ozpin always has a hand to play in all of this."

She crossed her arms and looked away.

"No."

Turning back, she watched as Ashton reached into his pocket and withdrew a compacted scroll. It had Beacon's logo on the back of it.

"Wait, that's-"

Skyla gasped, lamp nowhere in sight anymore, "Xera's scroll."

She reached over and tried to take hold of the small object, but the man holding it pulled his hand out of reach.

Anger flashed within her purple eyes before noticing what the man did next.

"Ozpin wasn't the one who told me not to." Ashton said, as he slid open the scroll and unlocked it. He turned the screen around and showed it to his small audience.

On screen was the music app, and a list of playlists were showcased as options to select. All of them were normal, but the top one was the one that was selected.

Every other playlist was titled, _Favorites, My Picks, _or _Nightcore._ The top one, however, was… different.

And it was the only one selected.

_Don't get involved. _The title was clear as day, and just beneath it was the playlist's description. _If you do, innocent people die. Compliment the first song if you understand._

* * *

"_Any chance you can play some music? My ear bud cords got sliced in my match with Rideat." Xera asked, looking up to Ashton._

_Ashton met his gaze and turned to competitor number two, "Do you mind?"_

"_Does it look like I care?" Zerath's voice grumbled through the mic._

"_Brilliant, let's do it!" Ashton smiled, disappearing into his familiar flash of white and focusing on re-materializing himself in front of Xera._

_Xera stepped to the side and pulled out his scroll. He slid it open and opened his music app. No sooner had he done that did Ashton appear in front of him in a flash of white light._

"_It's already set to a good playlist." Xera explained, handing his scroll over._

_Ashton nodded and gingerly took the scroll into his hand, "I'll take good care of it. So don't worry."_

_In another flash of light, Ashton was gone._

_He appeared, scroll in hand, back up in the announcer's balcony and situated himself at the far back. Placing the scroll on the table, he went to sync it to the Aero Sound System but stopped himself. Something caught his eye._

_Exiting out of the options, he scrolled up and read the titles and description of the playlist._

_Don't get involved? He thought to himself._

_Why?_

_It's his job to make sure these tournaments are safe._

_He dropped the scroll onto the coffee table and ran a hand through his hair._

_This is crazy._

_He couldn't… he shouldn't agree to this._

_Ashton felt a pressure on his shoulder and he turned to meet it. Ozpin, his longtime friend, stood by his side and gave him a reassuring smile._

"_Let Mr. Stark do what he needs to." He stated with a squeeze of the shoulder, then walked back to his seat._

_Ashton's bangs fell in front of his eyes as he looked down._

_He couldn't believe what he was about to do._

_Turning his mic back on, he started the first song and inwardly sighed._

"_Starset, nice choice."_

_Ashton complimented through the mic._

_It's done. There's no going back no, and there's no stepping in…_

…_no matter what happens._

_Kid, I hope you know what you're doing._

_That was his last thought, before stepping into the light and clearing his throat; a false but strong smile plastered across his trained face._

"_Now, enough talk! Let's get this fight started!"_

* * *

"H-he… he knew? Xera knew what was going to happen?" Allix asked, suddenly feeling a little light headed.

"He knew he was going to die today. Yes. And he specifically told me to stay out of it." Ashton spoke steadily. "Listen. It's been a long day…" Her met eyes with the teens, including Blake's in the back, "…get some rest. You can see your leader in the morning… after he's cleaned up."

_Cleaned up._ Skyla nearly choked at the thought. "I-is that why we can't see him?"

Silence once again settled over the group in a torturous tension. The atmosphere only seemed to linger this way as Ashton turned around and looked out the large windows behind him and into the arena below, "More or less, yes."

* * *

"You can't be serious. We're not _actually _going to go wait and sleep now, are we?" Weiss asked in a hushed tone, keeping pace with a rushed Skyla.

"Of course not." The girl grumbled, hands curled into tight little fists as she turned the corner.

"Listen, I'm going to make sure Ruby is okay. I'll take her back to our room and look after her." Yang stated and slowed down a bit. Ruby was in her arms again, but this time awake and aware of what was going on.

"Yang, really I'm okay." She tried to explain.

"Sis. You dropped like a rock back in the cue room." Yang looked down and tightened her hold, "You're getting some sleep."

Her lilac eyes then drifted from silver and met amber. She watched as her partner spaced in and out of deep thought. _You don't have to act so strong you know. _Yang thought as she walked past her partner, _Please, don't shut us out again._

Yang turned the next corner and made her way toward the nearest exit.

* * *

**Blake's POV (**_One Day before Tournament – Chapter 29: The Coliseum_**)**

_I smirked to myself and immediately asked my next question. "Is it a new transformation?"_

_Xera looked at me, eyes flashing yellow in shock for just a moment. Perfect._

_"Maybe."_

_"That's cheating." I glared at him, confident in my information gathering. I know for a fact… source: Ruby Rose._

_After a moment, he sighed. "Okay fine, yes. How are you so good at this?"_

_Then it dawned on him._

_He knows._

_It's not that Ruby's bad at keeping to herself, but he probably just figured out how much I can probably squeeze out of her before she stuffs her face full of cookies._

_Especially if Yang is my backup._

_"You talked to Ruby didn't you?"_

_Knew it. I looked away a bit, breaking eye contact for just a second before returning to his eyes, "Nope." I lied… and he knew it._

_"Now…" I immediately cut back into the questioning, "…for my last question." This time though, I had a trick up my sleeve. I smirked, a devious expression crossing my features._

_Maybe, just maybe… this'll work._

_"Do you hide wings under that sweatshirt?"_

_He looked a little taken aback by this… and for a few moments, he was contemplating something._

_"I can't answer that." He responded, keeping a monotone voice and a straight face._

_Damn. I frowned again._

_I hoped he'd give off just a small hint as to if I was right or not. I know his mother was a faunus, and that he wasn't adopted. But there was no way to know what Leona actually was. I've even known her for most of my years in the White Fang._

_But not once, not even for a split second, did she ever reveal herself to me. Or anyone there._

_So all I know is that he is a faunus, just not what kind._

_I wish he trusted me._

_"Well, you'll tell me when you're ready, only when you feel you can talk about it. Right?" I asked, genuine kindness passing over me. I didn't want to pressure him. But I do want him to put trust in me._

_He smiled and nodded his head._

_That smile seemed to dispel something dwelling in my heart, and I looked back at him with quickly manifesting ease. As if the world suddenly became warm again._

_"Blake?" He spoke, almost inaudible but my ears picked it up with ease. I don't know why, but he likes doing that every once in a while._

_"Hmm?" I responded._

_He gave a cautious glance around, noticing all the people walking back and forth on the nearby side walk and the few people sitting at the other tables outside the café._

_What was he looking for?_

_Suddenly, he stood up and took my hand. He pulled me back into the café and approached the woman we bought our food from._

"_Can we get onto the roof?" He asked._

_She was kind enough to show us the way up and give us some privacy. After stepping out into the brisk air, he looked out over the streets below then turned to me._

_What's he up to?_

_"There's something I need to tell you before I tell the others. It does actually involve what you were asking earlier."_

_Is he… there's no way he's about to… please tell me I'm not dreaming this up._

_I took his hands carefully into mine and looked into his eyes, "Only if you want to tell me."_

_"I do." He responded quickly._

_I smiled, I couldn't help it, "Alright then."_

_He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Well, it's about the tournament."_

_I nodded and waited, giving him all the time in the world._

_The wind seemed to die down as quickly as the sunlight began to fade. It was as if the world knew something was going on and wanted to listen in on our conversation. I could no longer hear the people below, everything grew quiet._

_"And, well." He hesitated, then re-opened his eyes before continuing, "It's also about my brother."_

_My voice got caught in my throat at those words. "Zerath?"_

_He nodded numbly and seemed to expect whatever feelings were about to course through me._

"_The guy who shot you? The same guy who tried to kill us in the forest?"_

_Again, he nodded._

_My next breath was shaky and my unease was immediately quelled when he tightened his hands around my own._

"_Why? What about him?" I asked in the steadiest voice I could muster._

_That… monster, he put Xera in the infirmary the last time we saw him. If those bullets hit anywhere else, anywhere vital, Xera could've been killed._

_There's no coming back from that._

"_He'll be entering the tournament." Xera continued with bated breath, worrying about how I'll take it._

"_He'll try to kill you again!" I blurted out emotionally._

_Damn it, why do I act like this?_

"_I know."_

_You know! Then why compete?! Why risk your life?! There are people who care about you now, people close to you. Why risk it all?!_

"_Then why?!" I voiced my thoughts again._

_He couldn't be seriously considering facing his brother again. In fact, Ozpin will never allow someone like that into the tournament anyway… right?_

"_I'll tell you. Ozpin and I have been having meetings every night since I first saw my brother again. And we've come up with something…" Xera began._

* * *

**Xera's POV (**_Five Days before the Tournament. The night of Chapter 24: The Aftermath_**)**

_My team quickly fell asleep. Whether that is because Skyla was stalking my date today, or because it's past midnight, I don't know._

_But they were asleep._

_I'm sure of it._

_I silently slipped out of my covers and threw on some socks and sneakers before slipping out of the door. My scroll blinded my eyes for a second but I dimmed the brightness completely, then slipped the object into my pocket._

_As quietly as I could, I made my way down the dimly lit hallways and found my way to the elevator._

_This thing was located at the center of Beacon Academy, and there was only one place I needed to go._

_Ozpin's office._

_I called the elevator with the push of a button and the doors opened soon after. Stepping inside, I selected the top floor and waited in silence._

_They need music in here… or something._

_The elevator pinged and the doors creeped open._

_It was a strange feeling, walking into Ozpin's room without the gears turning or the sun shining. It was so deathly quiet, it was unnerving._

"_To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Stark?" Ozpin looked up from the paperwork strewn across his desk. His white hair was only slightly disheveled and his coffee mug sat nearby on his large desk._

_The steam rose out of it and filled the open room with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee._

"_I think I've figured everything out." I started as I walked on the thick glass that made up the floor of the office. Below that were the countless gears that, for some reason, were a running theme for our Headmaster's office._

"_I'm listening." Ozpin slid his papers away and took off his glasses. He rubbed the bridge of his nose slowly then replaced them._

_He seemed tired._

"_Alright." I took a seat in one of the chairs before Ozpin's desk and leaned back. "It all starts with one question." Leaning forward to emphasize the point, I continued, "How does one control a dark entity?"_

_Ozpin looked on with slight intrigue, before gesturing for me to continue._

"_A kill chip." I said, before leaning back again, "There has to be a kill chip somewhere within my brother; the host body. If that's killed off, then he will probably be killed too."_

_The man took a sip from his mug, then set it down with a dully echoed thud. "Makes sense. How do you know this for sure?"_

_I hesitated, "I don't. It's an assumption, but I'm certain it's the right one."_

"_Certainty is a very rare feeling to come by. Are you sure?"_

_I nodded my head._

"_Very well, I assume this fact will lead to more?"_

_Taking another breath, I moved on. "Well, if there's a kill chip. Then someone out there is monitoring him and keeping him at bay. So, with this tournament coming up, it'll open up the possibility of finally finding out where they're observing from."_

_Ozpin interlaced his fingers and pulled his lips into a thin line, "You want to find the people who are trying to use your brother to kill you?"_

"_Y-yeah, but that's not all. There are other reasons, it's just…"_

"_You want your brother back."_

_I looked away, but he seemed to get the point._

"_Okay, but there will be rules. I'll fill you in, but first…" He nodded to me, "…please, continue."_

_I took another breath, this one shaky, "Sure."_

_Clearing my throat, I tried to relax, "I only saw one way to lure these people out. And that, isn't something I like, not at all actually. But, it's the only way…"_

_Pausing, I almost reconsidered saying this._

"…_a public execution."_

"_You're a genius!" Ozpin suddenly spoke up in the quiet room, causing me to flinch and nearly fall out of my chair._

"_W-what?!"_

"_You came to me because you need my help, more importantly, you need Glynda as well. And there's no convincing her of anything unless I'm involved." He elaborated._

_Well, yeah. That's pretty much it._

"_Yes."_

"_We'll assist you, but first… tell me how you want to go about this, public execution?" Ozpin settled back into a neutral voice and sat back in his own chair._

"_Okay, well… firstly I'm going to need to speak with Zerath, and get him onto our side." I started again, "After I do that, I can actually pull of an 'execution'."_

_I lifted my hand and revealed a .50 caliber bullet nestled in my palm. It was large, but it was easy enough to borrow from Ruby. I'll give it back, after I practice enough._

_Focusing my semblance, I lifted the bullet into view and pinched it between my fingers. "I found out I can do a little trick with objects. You know that I can clone myself into a hologram, but I can also…" I trailed off and focused on the bullet._

* * *

**(**_Day of the Tournament. First break chapter. Chapter 32: Breaking Things Together_**)**

_After my team wandered off, I headed back to our dorm room and dug up that bullet I've been saving. After taking it out of the ammunition case beneath my bed, I focused and created a hologram of it._

_I pocketed the bullet and stood up, then began putting focus into moving it. Anything, just as long as it moved._

_Before long, I was able to maneuver it through my fingers with sloppy accuracy and fluidity._

_I was so focused, I didn't even notice the door opening until it was too late._

"_Oh cool! Shoot me shoot me!" A familiar voice exclaimed, causing me to look up. A happily smiling Skyla bounded into the room and landed at its center; arms out dramatically._

_I chuckled, "What if it's not a hologram?"_

_Yeah, I'm fine. It's just Skyla right? What harm could she do?_

"_Trust me!" She cheered, looking up at the ceiling._

_Chuckling, I sent the bullet her way and sent it straight there her, causing her to gasp. The hologram arced around after reappearing behind her, then came back to me._

_Wow, sending it in a straight path was easier than I thought._

"_Wooww! That tickled!" Skyla giggled._

_I took note of that comment just in case, "Yeah. It looks real but it's fake." I said before dispersing the illusion._

_She sat down on her bed and turned to me, "So why are you messing with holograms anyways?"_

_Shoot! She's onto me. She's totally onto me!_

_I steeled my nerves and shrugged my shoulders, before sitting down at the desk as casually as possible. "No reason. Just trying it out for fun I guess." I lied. "I'm kind of trying to gain more control over my semblance so I can eventually control my hologram." Okay, that one was the actual truth._

_I found a random piece of paper and began writing random notes I recalled from a few lectures._

"_Ohhhh so like when I try to become a monster by putting candy on my face and hiding in the bathroom to scare people." She suddenly piped up._

_Glancing at her, I cracked a smile and shook my head. There were only a few incidents, but Rex has never been more scared than he was on that day. My hand stopped writing on its own, and I figured it was enough of an act._

"_Sure… something like that." I mumbled with a soft laugh._

"_Well, it worked for Jaune… except before he made it to the toilet he peed himself when I jumped out…. Oops." She said sheepishly then stepped out of the room._

_Definitely nothing to worry about. She has no idea._

* * *

**(**_Back to Ozpin and Xera_**)**

_Before long, I reached up and pulled a second bullet out of the one in my hand. There was no physical feeling to it, but it looked exactly like the first. "…I can create holographic clones of objects too. The only issue is… I can't get the original to disappear like I can with my body. At least… not yet."_

_I smiled as I levitated the holographic bullet into the air and moved it around a bit._

"_This… just got interesting." Ozpin replied to my demonstration, amusement eminent in his voice._

"_Yeah, but unfortunately I can't keep it going for long right now." True to my words, the bullet began to blur and it slowly faded away._

_Dropping my hands into my lap and slipping the bullet back into my pocket, I continued. "So that problem will hopefully be resolved by my fight. However, I still need a way to make it look more… realistic."_

* * *

**(**_The next day. Four Days before Tournament. Chapter 25: Shut up and Dance with me_**)**

"_Do I need to worry about you telling people?" I asked._

"_Nope, you can do that on your own. Just be careful. I may be a rare kind of faunus, but not as rare as you." Rideat let go of my shoulder and left the cafeteria._

_Well, that was interesting. I thought as I placed my dishes in the plate return and left as well, heading in the direction of the forging room._

_I may need a little back up on this plan. I'll need to talk to Skyla when she gets up, maybe she can help later tonight._

_Maybe we can finally get Pyrrha to act on her feelings._

_But for now, I have an explosives expert to find._

_Walking down the halls, I made my way to the outer wing of Beacon and found my usual place to hang out. If I wasn't eating, I was trying to redesign my weapon._

_The large scorched door creaked open as I pushed it forward. Immediately I was blasted with a wave of heat the sound of metal clashing against metal._

_Out of all the rooms in Beacon, this was the only one that allowed student access 24/7. So it wasn't surprising to see someone in here so early in the morning._

_I took a look around and spotted my target._

_She was wearing scorched goggles over her eyes and in her dainty hands was her gleaming Magnhild. The thick black apron she wore was anything but clean, and the tools she was using were strewn out carelessly over the darkened workspace._

_Her forge was one of few that was lit and fuming, the rest were silent._

"_Hiya Xera! Didn't think you'd be up this early." Nora greeted, giving me a big wave._

_I walked over and set my glass down on the table, eyeing her work for a few seconds._

"_Are those new grenade prototypes?" I asked._

_She nodded with glee and held up her multi-layered bouncing grenade shell. "Yeppers! I plan to use them in the tournament."_

_Hah, good luck to whoever you're facing then._

"_Wow, those should deal some serious damage."_

"_Oh yeah!" Nora placed the shell back down and began rolling a new one, "These babies should bounce a few times before blowing. Hopefully, I can get them to ignite a layer with every bounce. That way, things can go boom-boom but with extra boom."_

_I cracked a smirk and waited for a few seconds._

"_So? You're still here." She looked up at me, "What's up?"_

_She can be pretty down to earth at times, you know, when she's not with Skyla. Maybe the two radiate enough energy to hype the other up._

"_I sorta need your help." I admitted. "You see, I need a small directional explosive for this experiment I'm working on with my weapon." I half-lied._

"_Oh, sure thing! How strong do you want it?"_

_I thought about it and did the calculations, I also considered how badly this would bruise, "Strong enough to break through cloth, but not deal any serious damage."_

_She looked at me questioningly for a solid thirty seconds. There was no way she wasn't going to question me now. That was too obvious. Maybe I should've lied agai-_

"_Okay!"_

_And for the next few hours, we built twelve small explosives that were encased in such a way to ignite and blow outward in a focused direction. Two were extra; ten were what I needed for what I had planned._

"_Thanks, you have no idea what this means for me." I smiled my thanks and placed all the explosives in a small pouch._

"_No problem!" Nora gave me a sloppy solute then went right back to rolling more grenade casings._

_She has no idea, I hope. Now… off to get recruit Skyla for operation Arkos._

* * *

**Blake's POV (**_Back on the rooftop_**)**

_I took a slow, deep breath. My mind was having difficulty processing everything Xera's been saying. A public execution? Holographic bullets?_

_Explosives?_

"_So, wait. Let me get this straight…" I closed my eyes and recounted all the facts, "You want to fake getting shot and secretly recruited Nora to make it look realistic. And not just this, you also figured out how to create holographic decoys of objects, and will use that for the bullet?" I listed off._

"_So far, you're spot on." I opened my eyes to catch a nod from Xera._

_Okay._

_The sun had long since set, and the rooftop was now only illuminated by the stars in the sky. Once bustling streets were now vacant, aside from one or two brave souls that still had errands to run._

"_So wait, what about the gun shots? Wouldn't they be silent if you just send the hologram out?" I inquired._

"_Blanks." He stated simply, "Fill a clip with blanks and it looks exactly like a gunshot, just without a bullet. Now that I actually can substitute a false bullet as well, it looks as authentic as possible."_

_I don't know if he's a genius for thinking of this, or just crazy enough to actually try and pull it off._

"_A-alright." For the umpteenth time tonight, I took another deep breath, "So, the bullets go through you at the same time you detonate those directional explosives two by two?"_

"_Yes." He confirmed, "Front and back. All I need to do is set them up to a sequence and have someone else detonate them in sync with the gunshots."_

_He suddenly turned to me and my stomach did a flip._

"_That's where you come in." Xera walked up to me, and this time, he was the one to take my hands, "There's no one else I trust more than you right now."_

_My eyes went wide and I stared back at him._

"_You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that." I sighed exasperatedly and pulled him into a tight hug._

_I feel like Yang right now._

_He leaned away first and looked me in the eyes again, his bright pink ones seemed to fix on me; ignoring everything else in the world._

"_And to prove it…" It was his turn to take a breath, "…I'll show you something that no one else has seen since my mother died."_

_He stepped back and headed over to the center of the rooftop._

"_One of the things that mom told me in her final moments was that…" He turned back toward me and gave me the most genuine smile I've ever seen, "…when it comes time, I will eventually show someone that I trust what makes me who I am."_

"_I'm supposed to be proud of it, and that I'm supposed to let it protect me and guide me. And that, to show them to someone, it proves the absolute trust I share with that person." He continued, and then began pulling his green sweatshirt over his head._

_He'd about to-_

_He really is about to-_

_My thoughts ground to a halt in that very moment._

"_That someone is you, Blake. I trust you with my heart… and my life."_

_He meant it figuratively and literally, and all I could do was watch._

_He slowly lifted his sweatshirt over his head and let the cloth fall into a crumpled heap onto the ground. But I wasn't paying attention to that._

_My eyes stared dead ahead, and my jaw hit the ground._

_I hate to admit it, but my jaw hung as loose as I felt right then and there._

_Xera unfurled his wings. Pristine, black, silky wings. They were wrapped around his body, tucked beneath his arms, and covered his torso. It would've just looked like some sort of soft wrappings, but they moved and twitched with every breeze coursing over the rooftop._

_The feathers shuttered to life; each one fluttering and moving, and slowly… each wing stretched out to bask in the glow of the shattered moon._

_Each wing spanned at most eight feet, but somehow he could wrap them entirely around his body without any excess beneath that sweatshirt of his._

_My eyes, admittedly, roamed to the tip of each wing then back to his revealed chest. He didn't have prominent muscles, but he seemed well toned and had moderately visible abs._

_Immediately my cheeks reddened and I moved on. I began walking forward, but stopped. "Do you… mind if I…"_

"_Go ahead."_

_Tentatively, and as gently as possible, I proceeded and made my way over to his side. With a soft touch, I reached out and let my fingers graze over his onyx feathers._

_Nothing, that I have ever touched before, was as soft as these._

_Slowly, I ran my fingers through the ruffles, taking in everything I could. With every feather I touched, warmth would spread though my fingertips. Like they were each individually alive and carried their own heat._

"_Wow." I finally spoke, wanting to be wrapped in as many of these feathers as I can._

_All of a sudden, the whole wing began to move. It closed in on me and Xera pulled me into his chest. The next thing I knew, both his wings were wrapped around my form and instinctively… not voluntarily…_

…_I purred._

_He chuckled at my response and began unraveling his wings from me, but before he could I reached out and held them close._

"_Thank you." I mumbled against his chest. "For trusting me. And of course, I'll help you with your little scheme. But, if that monster hurts you, I'll tear his throat out and hang him with it."_

"_He's not as bad as you think, you know, when he doesn't have an evil thing inside him." Xera ran a hand through my hair and grazed past my ears, causing me to purr again._

"_Do you mind if I ask you a question?" He spoke up._

"_Sure." I responded mindlessly, a weird state of euphoria quickly engulfing me._

"_Have you ever experienced flying over a city of lights before?"_

_No way._

_I looked up at him and he had a huge smile crossing his lips._

"_No?" I responded._

"_Well…" He shifted his weight and I naturally shifted with him, "…do you want to?"_

_I inwardly squealed._

"_Y-yes. I'd love to."_

_He laughed and swept me up in his arms. Placing his arms beneath my knees and my back, he held me bridal style and walked up to the ledge._

_Peering over, I felt like we weren't as high up as we should've been. But that thought quickly left me when instead of stepping off, he surged into the air with speed._

_I was carried upward at a steep angle and we quickly approached the clouds blowing over Vale. We broke through the barrier of misty grey and we're suddenly beneath the clearest shattered moon that I've ever seen._

_Its fragments glittered with light, and the stars were beyond what anyone could physically count. Beneath us was a sea of clouds, each one lit up in such a way that it defined the meaning of beauty and celestial._

_It was heaven on Remnant._

_The beat of his wings became rhythm to my ears, and soon, we were at a constant even hover just above the misty sea._

_With the way his wings were moving, I was surprised at how still we were in the brisk night air._

"_Cool, isn't it?" Xera asked me._

"_Cool? This is amazing." I replied._

_I looked up at him and smirked, "You're amazing." And then I strained my neck up to kiss him._

_He met me halfway._

_It was the most amazing night of my life._

* * *

**Xera's POV (**_Two days into the tournament, after the first bracket. Chapter 41: Brothers Reunited_**)**

_The araknik grimm collapsed to the forest floor. The red glow in its blood lusting eyes fading away as quickly as it had appeared._

_My brother and I bumped fists._

"_Man, it's been so long since we fought like that." Zerath admitted; the dark depth to his voice gone for the day. Soul-Slasher agreed after all to give him the day off._

_Family comes first after all._

"_Yeah, we make a great team don't we." I laughed, connecting my boomerangs back into place._

_We spent the next hour or so hiking through the forest and back up the mountain Dante and I climbed. This time, the abundance of erebas was unnatural. It was almost as if we were getting attacked every thirty minutes._

"_Yeah, sorry about all this." Zerath apologized as he tore through one of the panther-like grimm, "With this guy inside me, I'm sorta a pure source of negative emotion. I'm essentially a grimm magnet."_

"_That's gotta suck." I just now realized how bad my brother probably has it._

"_Nah, it's great for practice. Terrible for camping though." He laughed dryly, and I did too._

_We trudged up the mountain with fewer attacks, but we made it to its peak as cleanly as we could. Zyther made a move to greet me again but shied away under the presence of my brother. She decided to patrol the area instead of come any closer._

"_Poor girl, she's usually so playful." I sighed, but moved on to show Zerath mom's grave._

_The pillar of crystal-like ice stood as tall as ever against the falling light of the setting sun. Its icy blue now illuminated with a golden glow, as if the whole mountain top was set ablaze by its reflected light._

_It was as if we were meant to be there, the both of us… on the anniversary of mom's death._

_Zerath took slow steps up to the obelisk, careful not to break anything._

"_It's durable, no need to worry." I commented, walking around him._

"_I've learned to just be careful, unlike the other guy."_

_Twenty minutes later, and the sun was gone. I found myself sitting next to my brother on the peak's edge, overlooking the forest and the distant Beacon._

_It was now or never._

"_I know about the kill chip." I spoke up._

_He was taken aback by the comment but subconsciously rubbed the back of his neck._

_So that's where it is._

"_How'd you know?" Zerath asked._

"_Just an assumption, but glad to know I was right." I leaned back against my hands, "Listen, there's something I need to talk to you about. Something that'll benefit you, him, and I."_

_Zerath's eyes flashed red for a brief moment, and he quickly looked my way._

"_I can deactivate it for you." I explained, "And then you can reap havoc on the people who tried to control you." I spoke as if I was talking to Soul-Slasher, but it involved my brother too. "But only if you agree to my plan."_

_My question lingered in the cold air. The darkness that fell upon Remnant suddenly became colder in those few moments._

"_I'm listening." The darkness in his voice was back, and when I turned to meet his eyes; they were crimson red._

**3****rd**** Person (**_Final Fight of the Tournament. Chapter 50: Dead Man Walking_**)**

_It's the big day, let's hope everything goes well._

_My brother and I have agreed to the plans, and also agreed to have an actual fight. My plan still worked, no matter who won in the end._

_It all boiled down to one complicated series of questions. How do I convince an unknown third party that their assassin succeeded in the murder of me, and that their kill chip successfully terminated their assassin when the deed was done?_

_The answer?_

_Exactly what I'm about to do… here… on this day._

_Those were my final thoughts when the music volume increased to rock the stadium, and Ashton began his countdown._

* * *

**3****rd**** Person (**_At the same time, at the Cross Continental Transmit Tower in Vale_**)**

"_Indygo! Crystal! I need you over here!" Ren called out. The room he found himself in was bustling with franticly working young adults and experienced teens. He was in one of the top floors of the CCT Tower._

_A young man with blue hair and a young girl with pearl white hair came running up from their two computers to consult the boss._

"_Listen, I need you two to focus on jamming every signal in the area except for the VCT broadcast. We need that tournament to be reaching our third party. But we can't let any signal reach the arena ground… copy?" Ren explained._

"_Copy!" "Copy!" The two spoke in unison and ran back to the computers._

"_It's time to turn Vale into the world's largest dead zone." Ren said to himself as he watched the workers work._

_*BANG*_

_He turned and saw his lifelong friend, Nora Valkyrie, smash a plushy hammer into the desk of one of the hackers._

"_Stop slacking off you slacker! WORK WORK WORK WORK!"_

_Ren grinned at the poor soul. That's what you get for not working up to the standards of Nora._

_Well, only I can reach those. But enough with that._

_Ren clapped his hands and all eyes turned to him, "Alright people! Our window is coming up, and we can't miss it. Beacon has hired you to do a job, so let's not mess this up! All focus will be on nothing else, we can't afford to miss this opportunity!"_

_If we don't, a man will die._

_He and a select few were the only ones filled in on Xera's master plan. It was random, when he was called to a secret meeting late at night in the library. But now he understood the true weight of the situation._

_Ren, Nora, Rideat, Pyrrha, and Blake are the only ones who currently know what's actually going on. Rideat for obvious reasons, Ren assumed. That kid can see auras, he'll know something's up. Pyrrha and Ren had a vague but reliable ability to aura signatures. So they needed to be informed too._

_Blake, yeah that one was obvious._

_But, the worst part was, no one else could know. Not even his teammates. If they knew, and the third party noticed their neutral expressions, it'd tip them off._

_That has to hurt Xera. To have to put his friends through that._

_Before Ren knew it, the time was upon them._

_On screen, the final fight was coming to a close._

"_Look alive people! We have to catch this signal!"_

_Whoever's sending out this kill signal, we'll find them._

* * *

**(**_Back to the fight_**)**

_To Xera's side, Zerath groaned and finally came to. The blow he took to the head knocked him out momentarily and heavily disoriented him._

_He rolled over, black clothes now ridden with ash as he rested on his back._

_"Who was the clever one again?" Xera asked, stumbling over and offering his brother a hand._

_Their eyes made the silent note that it was time._

_Time to enact Xera's plan._

_Zerath gazed up with his red eyes, staring at the hand stretched down to ask for his own._

_Staying silent, he accepted the hand and was pulled to his feet; albeit slowly and with a lot of effort._

_Xera patted him on his shoulder and began making his way out. His nerves must have been eating him up on the inside because he still wasn't feeling well. He could barely walk straight, but it was enough to keep him moving._

_To keep up the act._

_Thankfully, he had just enough aura left to conjure up a few bullets._

_A few feet out, and he heard the sound of a clip falling to the ground._

_By the time he'd stopped, the sound of metal sliding and clicking into place tickled his battered hearing._

_Zerath primed his bolt back and slammed it forward, careful not to show the cameras the blank that was just loaded into the chamber._

_Xera turned around, and was met with the sight of his brother. Rifle extended, lifted, scope trained at his chest._

_The first shot silenced the entire stadium._

_Xera brought his blade up and sliced at the bullet, only for his sword to pass harmlessly past it._

_With great focus, Xera was able to move the bullet around his blade with struggled ease. It was subtle, but he saw it, and he was sure the cameras did too. It glided around his blade in a manor no bullet should be physically capable of executing._

_His remaining sliver of aura disappeared in his effort to demolish the bullet, but the round was coated in a dark blue dust. It was something only unique to one brand in the world; Aura Nullification._

_Or so it appeared._

_Up in the announcement balcony, Glynda purposefully lowered the percentage on-screen. The aura level that was linked to her scroll dipped and vanished, simulating the last of Xera's aura disappearing._

_It was an easy task. Just change a few numbers, and the crowds will bend to the idea of certain death._

_Come on Blake, I'm counting on you for this part. Xera thought._

_Down in the arena, the whistling bullet tore through Xera's sweatshirt and broke through his back. A geyser of blood trailing in its wake as it crashed into the revealed walls of the arena._

_The packet of blood rigged to the small explosives worked perfectly. Nora did an excellent job with making them. He'll have to thank her later, again._

_4 shots followed the first, all in rapid succession._

_Two rounds entered at either side of his chest, puncturing straight through his lungs and blasting apart the stone wall behind where Xera stood._

_Wow, nice touch Ashton. You even snuck in some explosives of your own. Xera could only imagine Ashton laughing hysterically and holding a detonator in his hand._

_One more bullet blew through the phoenix's shoulder._

_The last pierced his heart._

_Every shot forced Xera back a step, he had long since dropped his sword. It wasn't until the last shot, that the world grew quiet. His vision blacked out as he fell to his knees, blood staining his sweatshirt._

_The world slowed to a stop, and Xera fell to the ground; limp._

_Unmoving._

_On screen, his aura level read 0%._

_Nonexistent._

_Everything was perfect. Now to lay perfectly still, and predict when to activate that electrical charge we have hooked up to Zerath's neck; right next to his kill chip._

_A few seconds passed, and Glynda decided it was now or never. She activated the charge and digitally lowered his aura levels to 0%. Zerath locked up instantly. The electricity coursed through him and threw his body to the ground. Moments later, he too lay still._

_Whether that was through acting or because of the pain, no one would ever know._

* * *

**(**_Back to Ren and his crew of hackers_**)**

"_Sir! They're bouncing the signal off of every scroll tower throughout all of Vale! I can't keep up with it!"_

_Ren rushed over and slammed his hands down onto the keyboard, "Step aside."_

_The man did as instructed and got up as quickly as he could. Ren plopped himself down and began typing at a speed that seemed inhuman._

"_Come on…"_

_He grumbled, the screen he stared at constantly shooting across a map of Vale. With every changing image, a ping of red radar like dispersions blinked from tower icons. These people were careful._

"_Come…on…"_

_He was getting close. He could feel it._

_The screen was flicking between locations more rapidly now, getting to the point where the map was just becoming a blur._

"_Come on!"_

_The signal dropped, it was dead._

_The map stopped its moving, and Ren stopped typing._

"_I got as close as I could." He sighed as he pulled out his scroll. He typed a message to Glynda and sent it quickly._

_On his monitor was the bird's eye view of the Krono Desert, and within the sea of sand sat a large facility._

_His message read: 'Not enough, but we have a lead now.'_

* * *

**(**_Present time, after the Tournament concluded_**)**

"Oh, and you decide to tell us this now?!" Weiss exclaimed.

Skyla was looking particularly sheepish under Weiss's stern gaze. She had just finished recounting her encounter with Xera and his magic bullet.

She realized that it was probably an important and crucial fact.

"I just remembered, okay?! It's been a long day!" Skyla retorted.

"Yeah, well, not long enough it seems. Do you know what this means?!" Weiss countered Skyla's retort.

The girl in purple suddenly had a series of thoughts run through her mind like a sped up movie. She quickly stood up and stuck her fist into the air in triumph.

"Wait!" Skyla exclaimed, pulling her fist back down to her chest. "I think I've figured it out!"

Weiss could only sigh and rub the bridge of her nose, "No duh, Sherlock."

* * *

**Now, be honest, how many of you saw this one coming. Not the whole, 'he's not actually dead' thing, but the '**_**how**_** he did it' thing. I hope you know that I'm not lying when I say most of these scenes were already started or written prior to this chapter. Lots of hidden hints, and if anyone were secretly Sherlock Holmes, they would've been able to figure all this out already.**

**I don't expect anyone to do that, unless they enjoy it.**

**Andy! Quiet you, we've talked about this already. It was fun though.**

**But, I figured it'd be really enjoyable to dish all the facts out in a big, epic, reveal chapter. _Sherlock_ style!**

**Seriously, this was a huge reveal that I've been planning for quite a while. Yeah, that's right. **_**Planning**_**.**

**Emphasis on planning.**

**I don't usually do that, so you know this is something big. Also, this opens up the door to the next story Arc. I can't wait. I hope you enjoyed this tournament arc, because it'll be a while before I do another one at such a great length.**

**Only The Baz can handle this much brutality... twice. Nah, but it _will _be a while before another one rolls around... say... maybe the Vytal Festival. Even then though, it might not be pure fighting but more focused on the festivities and characters.**

**You'll finally get to see Xera's backstory and understand his semblance more. Not just that, but Volume 2 will officially be under way **_**and**_** Vulderak will make another appearance. Remember him? Yeah, he's the dragon.**

**And I believe this should also be mentioned. The main antagonist is here! And he's **_**fresh **_**out of mercy. This guy will coexist alongside the actual antagonists of the show, Cinder, Roman, the White Fang, those will still be issues that need to be resolved. But they're more long term at the moment, for now I'll be running through both story lines.**

**They might even intertwine.**

**For those paying attention, Zerath is Subject B2; which hints at more subjects, as well as one before him in the 'B' (Beta) stage.**

_**REVIEW!**_** Let me know what's going on inside those heads of yours. Please feel free to let me know if anyone had their minds blown. Anything and everything is appreciated.**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, I'll see you in the next one.**

**Cya XD**


	52. Murder Mystery

**So, I had two options. One: Skyla could be right when she declared she had figured it out, and I'd be done with that subject. She'll be revealed to be more perceptive than you'd think. However, that's just option one.**

**The boring one.**

**Now, for the fun one.**

**Option two…**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 52: Murder Mystery

**Skyla's POV**

"Pfft, of course I'm Sherlock! Come my dear Watson, we shall solve this case!" I giggled, grabbing Weiss by the shoulders and pointing her in the direction of our dorm rooms.

We must fill Ruby and Yang in on what 'actually' happened.

I pushed back through my friends, stepping in between Allix and Rex and grabbing Blake by the hand.

"Come, come, my dear; the journey begins." I smiled and took the nearest corner, dragging Blake with me.

Behind her followed my teammates and 'Watson'.

* * *

"Please tell me you're not about to-"

"Of course I am!" I interrupted loudly, standing up and proudly plopping myself down in the center of RWBY's dorm room.

"But how did you figure it out?" Ruby asked, her bed swaying slightly as she peaked her head over the edge.

"It's elementary my dear Watson, elementary." I replied smartly, whipping out my detective hat and bubble pipe.

As I nestled the cotton deerstalker cap into place and blew a few bubble, I was once again assaulted by my peasants.

"What about the bullets? And the blood? You can't explain that, can you?" Yang asked unsurely.

"Ah, yes. The bullets and the blood." I sighed and blew a few more bubbles before continuing, "Obviously those were faked. Now, instead of wondering about the evidence… you should be focusing on the culprit!"

"Culprit?" Blake suddenly asked.

Did I just pull her out of her depressing thoughts? I was wondering why she's been so quiet.

"Yes! Someone is behind this… someone wanted to fake Xera's death… someone is responsible!" I bantered, whirling around and storming to the door; locking it tight in one swift motion.

"Uh, why'd you lock the door?" Yang's voice caused me to turn around.

The blonde brawler sat on Blake's bed beside the cat-faunus herself, and across the room Weiss just sat herself down on her own mattress. My gaze fell on Allix and Rex, sitting on the floor and leaning against the base of Weiss's bed.

"Isn't it obvious?" I said as if it were common knowledge, "One of us, here, in this very room… is guilty!" I skipped back into place and shifted my gaze across the eyes of my observers.

"You can't be serious." Weiss sighed, fingers already pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, I'm totally serious. Fear not, for Herlock Sholmes is on the case!"

"Isn't it Sherlock Holmes-"

"SHUT UP, MIKE!" I screamed, cutting off Allix.

"But I'm not-"

"Moving on." I began pacing back and forth in a small circle, my hands clasped officially behind my back as I blew more bubblers… professionally.

"It's a classic really." I started, then turned my attention to Blake. "You're the lover Blake, tell me… how well do you really know Xera Stark?" I inquired as I leaned in.

Blake's cheeks flushed red a bit as she looked away. Ah hah! A natural response to being referred to as Xera's lover. The text book example of someone in love.

Or… someone who is undeniably guilty!

"Hmm, I see. So you don't want to talk huh? Was there an affair?" I pushed, leaning back and looking down on her.

"W-what? N-no… wait, why is this even important?!" Blake replied, glaring at me suddenly.

"Ah, an excellent question!" I pointed my finger to the ceiling and whirled around, resuming my pace again. "For you see, behind every murder case is a _scandalous_ affair. Why? Because…"

I spun around again and pointed to Blake's face, "It is always… _always_ the lover's fault!"

"Well this time it's not!" Blake defended herself with a lie.

"Irrelevant! Now, let's just say you weren't the culprit." I moved my gaze onto someone else. "Perhaps you were the _reason_. Someone wanted to hurt you, and to do so hurt Xera. Or, maybe someone had their eye on you. Someone wanted you for themselves and Xera was in the way?!" I continued, walking over and staring up into the red-reapers eyes.

"You were always after Xera's cookies, weren't you Ruby? All this time, you lied and waited for the moment to strike, and now… this was your perfect moment. This was the time to attack. It was YOU! You killed XERA!" I shouted at Ruby, seeing if she'd cave in.

Ruby squeaked and threw herself back against her blanket; causing the whole bed to sway.

"How could you say that?! Xera's my friend, we're forging buddies!" She cried out, then stood defensively on her bed.

"As I thought, you are truly an excellent liar Ruby Rose." I relented my attack and moved on again. "You are still a suspect, but now I must question you further. Tell me Ruby…" I blew a few more bubbles to pause for dramatic effect and suspense.

"Where were you on the night of the murder?"

"It was day." Rex corrected.

"Irrelevant. Now, answer the question honestly." I spoke calmly, looking up at the young girl I just put on the spot.

"I was with you, in the cue room. Didn't you see me?!"

Oh, for she tells the truth. However, there is a huge flaw in her alibi. "How do I know your alibi isn't crazy?"

"You're my alibi!"

"Exactly!"

The room fell into silence again as Ruby slumped back down into her bed.

I smirked, "So, you have _no_ alibi and _no_ proof to harbor the fact that you're innocent." I concluded, blowing a few more bubbles for good measure.

Despicable, to kill your friend just so you could steal his secret cookie stash.

That's just horrible.

"I can be my sister's alibi. I was there the whole time, and she never left my side." Yang raised her hand, clearly a novel example of an elder sister bond. But of course, she's obviously fabricating her own alibi in the form of Ruby!

Surely she has an ulterior motive for speaking up!

She's the guilty one!

I whirled on Yang and thrust an accusing finger at her, "So you admit it! You were there at the scene of the crime!"

"We all were." Allix chimed in, she had a small smile on her face.

Awe, look at who's cheering up.

She's totally hiding something.

"And you!" I once again spun on my heel and approached the archer, "You have analytical eyes that can take in an entire battlefield and focus on a single target all at one time! Obviously you noticed the crime, and saw that it was truly faked! And yet, you stayed silent… why is that?"

Allix was taken aback by my exclamation of the truth and held a hand to her heart. "Why would I hide anything?"

One small lightbulb lit up in a row of six dim bulbs. It appears one has just figured out what I'm on about. I smiled humorously at her and she cracked a smile of her own.

"Only a guilty woman says she isn't hiding anything. That's the most common lie that's been told throughout all of history!" I stated, then stepped away and began pacing again.

"Skyla-"

"Ahp up uhp up!" I zoomed over and stopped Weiss's tangent before it could even start. As I flicked her in the forehead, she gawked at me and I smiled stupidly. "I'm not done yet silly…"

Suddenly, a second bulb lit up. And that makes two, I commented in my head as I smiled at Weiss; who just sighed exasperatedly.

"For you see! There is one factor that we've overlooked…" I placed my hand against my chin then looked at my friends in front of me. "…maybe the spouse was in on it the whole time!" I claimed and walked over to Blake.

She just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Three light bulbs. They're catching on quick.

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. I have my suspicions, but I have trust in my boyfriend." Blake spoke seriously.

Oh, she's good.

"A worthy excuse for an attempt for innocence." I simplified and flashed her a smile, "But you see, you could've been in cahoots with Xera from the very beginning. You could've been a part of the plan and saw it through so that it was executed flawlessly! But the real question is… why?"

I stepped back and blew more bubbles into the room, "Why? You may ask. Well, it's quite simple really." Giggling a little, I flicked the tip of my cap up a bit and looked out the window dramatically. "Once Xera's death was faked. He could work behind the scenes to fake Blake's death, and then… once everything is said and done. They rob a bank and disappear!" I exclaimed. "Truly a plausible fairytale vendetta."

There was a hard thump behind me, and I turned to see Rex lying on his back; shoulders shaking.

And that makes four light bulbs. We've reached the halfway threshold, they've all almost figured it out.

"My god sir, you've fallen over!" I rushed over and nudged the chuckling Rex in the side; sending him a short wink as I did so.

"My bad, please, 'Herlock'. Continue." Rex gestured to me after he sat himself back up.

I grinned and spread my arms out wide, "It was the perfect plan. Nothing could go wrong. But, clearly there was one small mishap. One unforeseen obstacle…" I offered my stake and looked around, "…and that would be a third party.

Blake gasped uncharacteristically.

Oh, she's really good.

"Someone didn't want these two to be together. And so, they've took it upon themselves to interfere!" I further explained, "A potential love interest? Or even an arch nemesis? Either one could hold the motive to break these two up and foil their perfect plan."

I looked over and noticed Ruby and Yang sharing a glance, before Ruby fell back and she started giggling silently. Yang just flashed the biggest smirk I've ever seen on her face as she looked toward me.

Two more lightbulbs lit up. And that makes six.

I see my goal has been reached.

Smiling proudly, I sighed again and continued with my explanation.

"Now, I know what you're all thinking…" I turned on my heel and crossed my arms, "There's no way a girl like Skyla can figure out just who this third party is. Well, I'm about to prove you all wrong!" I declared as I bound for the door, unlocked it, and forcefully yanked it open.

Just as I thought.

In the hallway, with his hand grasped around his dorm room door handle, was Ren who was accompanied by Nora. The two stared back at me as if I was crazy.

Pfft, crazy? I know what you've been up to! I see what you doing! And I don't like eht!

"It was you! You killed Xera!" I screamed, dashing out and catching Ren by the collar.

"Gasp! How'd you know?!" Nora cried out in horror, hands in the air and on their way down to meet my shoulders. With a hefty grip, she took hold of my shoulders and gasped again.

"We were totally being sneaky! And we would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling-"

"Nora, I believe we are innocent." Ren sighed, causing me to relinquish my grip on his collar. "There's someone who wants to talk to you." He suddenly said seriously as he patted down his shirt, looking up at me when he was done.

I quirked an eyebrow.

"What, really?" I asked questionably.

"Yes, and he had requested everyone be present." He leaned over and addressed the six teens poking their heads out of RWBY's door frame.

"Us too huh?" Yang reiterated.

"Looks like we're doomed." Rex said, his head above the two girls below him.

"Yep." Ruby chimed in with a pop.

* * *

**Xera's POV**

I took a few deep breaths and once again, dried my sweaty palms against my new black sweatshirt. "Why'd I agree to this again?" I asked, pacing back and forth to the constant churning of gears. I had to change out of my bloodied clothes and switch to something different than the usual. Now I wore all black. Black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, black combat boots, you know… the usual but black.

"Don't ask me. You said you needed to do this." Ozpin's voice responded to my encrypted plea for comfort.

"Well, this'll be the most people I've ever told about this." I stated, stopping for a second and turning to the two at the large desk. "I mean, you're the only two living people that has ever known the truth for years." I pointed out.

"Yes, but you need to do this. We can't keep it from them, not with what we've found out." Glynda sighed tiredly, standing tall beside Ozpin.

The sun behind them sent dancing lights through the large spanning window of Ozpin's office. Its large glowing orb settled perfectly behind them, creating a shine of light that did nothing to relinquish the twisted pull on my nerves.

"I really don't want them getting involved though, or worse… hurt." I said, walking up to the only two people I can really call a guardian at this point.

They were the ones that took me in anyway, and now they're the closest things I have to family.

Squinting my eyes a bit, I stood at the front of the desk before my headmaster and my uncle… more or less. Beyond them was too bright to even glance at, so I kept my gaze low. Scattering my visuals onto the surface of the desk and using my peripherals to see their shadowed faces.

If I weren't so nervous, this site would actually be quite scenic. I wonder what the mountains look like with this kind of sunlight. Seriously, this is a photographer's dream; a golden sun.

"They're already involved, Xera." Ozpin said softly, using my first name. "We can't keep dancing around this subject."

"Ozpin's right. If anything, they deserve to know the truth." Glynda looked to the side for a second before turning back to meet me again, "Well, most of it anyway."

They were making small attempts to reassure me. I knew why I was doing this, it's just… it's hard to actually go through with it. When you live a life of secrets and lies, you get used to that very life style. But once the time comes to put actual trust into someone, let alone a group, it becomes an internal struggle.

No one can take change easily.

I'm no exception to that.

But even so, sometimes… if _you_ don't change… the world won't either.

It's one of the most selfish decisions you can make as a living being here on this Remnant. Refusing to change just creates problems for the people around you.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard the doors to the elevator slowly slide open. My heart skipped a few beats when I heard footsteps echo in the now silent room. The gears beneath my feet slowed to my rapidly beating heart, and I closed my eyes to take a deep breath.

Silently, I turned around and opened my eyes.

"Hey guys." I said sheepishly.

I met the eyes of my team, Ruby's team, and Jaune's team. His _full _team. Pyrrha seems to have made a full recovery, and is here now too.

"I know what you're thinking." I started, fidgeting slightly under the silent scrutinizing of all their gazes. Not a word was uttered from them, and it only made my heart beat even faster. "I won't blame you if you hate me for what you saw out there. If anything, you _should_ hate me. But, just… hear me out…"

Speaking slowly, I kept my eyes from dropping. Even though that was the only thing they wanted to do right now.

"I-"

***Slam***

Out of nowhere, I was tackled to the hard glass ground by something soft but durable. And whatever it was, it started giggling.

I looked down to the site of my partner, teary eyed but she smiled at me. Her light purple eyes just kept staring at me as she continued to laugh and cry, dampening my chest as she pressed her face into it.

"I cheered them up for you, now it's your turn." She spoke, muffled by the cloth of my sweatshirt.

But I heard it.

I reached up and pat her on the head softly, "Thanks, that means a lot."

A pair of crimson dust black boots came into vision, followed by a pair of silver ones. I looked over and up, meeting eyes with the rest of my team.

Allix fell to her knees at my side and choked out a breath, "Y-you're… y-you're an i-idiot, you know that?" She spoke in a broken voice, but a small smile fell across her lips.

"There's no way our leader was going to go down without a fight." My gaze switched to Rex as he looked down at me, hands in his coat pockets. "And here you are. Still alive and kicking." He started to chuckle.

His words seemed to open the floodgates. As I came to realize just how much my team cared about me, the rest of my friends in the room made their way over.

Skyla was suddenly pulled off and I was immediately pulled up into a spine crushing hug.

"You scared the living hell out of us dumbass." Yang spoke over my shoulder as I struggled to breath, "I might kill you myself if you do that again… but, I'm glad you're not dead."

Awe, she cares-

"…it gives me the opportunity to beat on you for making Ruby cry." She smiled as her grip somehow tightened, and my life flashed before my eyes.

My bones cracked and I let out a pained whimper, whether that was because of the pain or the knowledge of my imminent doom in the future, I have no idea. But, she let me go after that.

I barely had time to breath before Ruby engulfed me in her own hug, smaller and lighter; much more forgiving than Yang's death grip.

"I'm glad it wasn't real." She said happily, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. I saw that she was trying really hard not to cry.

"I'm glad it wasn't either." I smiled back.

"Playing it close to the chest I see." I looked past Ruby and saw Jaune behind her. He gave me a nod and I reached over with a fist, and he promptly bumped it with his own.

"Yeah, I had to." I admitted, and pulled my fist back.

"Why though?" Pyrrha asked from beside Jaune. She looked a little tired, a bit weak on aura too, but otherwise fine.

"Right. That is why you're all here." I tapped Ruby on the top of the head and she separated, stepping back to be in line with the others.

I moved my way back to the desk and leaned against it, "I uh… need to tell you all something. But first, you all need to know the truth."

Crossing my arms, I shifted a bit and continued, "There is a corporation out there that wants me dead."

Blunt, but efficient. I guess.

"More of a syndicate actually, funded by an unknown backer. However, they share a common interest…" Time to be dramatic, "…the total annihilation of the faunus race."

Several of my friends stepped back, others took a short sharp intake of breath, the rest seemed to just accept it. It wasn't too unexpected for a large group of people to eventually take drastic measures against the faunus.

"Someone has been working behind the scenes to make this a reality, and for whatever reason they've come after me and my family." I explained.

"Wait." Ruby suddently said, catching my eye. "What do you have anything to do with this? Or them, whoever they are?" She asked, getting elbowed in the side by Yang for interrupting.

"Y-yeah, there's a good reason for that." And here's the hard part. "They call themselves the Angels of Death. And ever since a few centuries ago or however long they've been doing it, they've hunted down a particular pure breed of faunus for their DNA."

"I don't know why, but I can only assume they're building a weapon forged from ancient genetics. That particular race of faunus has probably fallen into myth now, but they were once called a proud civilization. They were the Phoenix."

This time, it was Weiss who interrupted. But she raised her hand first, apparently. "How come I've never heard of them? Even if they're ancient, we'd still have some information recorded somewhere."

"That's because they went into hiding as soon as they realized they were being hunted." I answered. "The Phoenix had always been excellent at adapting, hence why their DNA was sought out by the AOD."

"Yeah, well that's just DNA though. What could they possibly use it for?" Allix asked.

I just shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know, but it's anything but good."

My words lingered in the air for a few seconds before someone finally spoke up.

"You're a Phoenix… aren't you?" Ren asked, probably already assuming the answer.

I nodded my head, "Y-yes… I'm the last of my kind."

Before anyone could speak, I continued, "My bloodline, my ancestors, developed a technique to mask our aura and hide our wings completely. Not just under a baggy sweatshirt or cloak…" I emphasized my point by ruffling my wings a bit, causing my sweatshirt to shift in different places. "…but entirely so that the wings could disappear and reappear at will."

"I… never had the chance to learn the second part, but my mother was able to teach me how to mask my aura signature. And we survived for a while, up until five years ago. That was the last time my family was still a whole."

"You all know my brother by now, Zerath. We don't share the same blood, but he's been in the family ever since I was three. He's adopted, but still… he's my brother. But the man you see now isn't the same guy. When our mother was killed, we were both taken to a facility and put through experimentation. After about a month, my brother and I worked up a plan to escape."

"He got me out, but Zerath… he never made it to the water. God knows whatever he had to go through once I left. The following days were a blur, but I remember waking up on a raft to see Ozpin standing in front of me at the docks. He took me in and I underwent training to become a huntsman."

"And now, five years later, they've sent my brother to kill me. But in order to do that they needed some sort of control over him. So they merged him with a dark entity built for destruction, Soul-Slasher. And then they placed a kill chip inside my brother's neck. In the tournament, we were able to disable it as well as convince them that I'm dead… for now."

_They'll find out eventually, but before they do… I'll already be burning that damned corporation to the ground. _I added mentally.

"Well, that's great! Now you don't have to worry about them… right?" Skyla asked, unfortunately.

I shook my head, "Zerath…" I bit my lip, I know it wasn't my fault but I can't help but blame myself for at least being part of the cause, "…he fell into a coma. And we don't have the knowledge to do anything to help him, not unless we find the research they've done and use that to save him."

"That's easy." Yang smashed her fists together, startling a few people, "Let's just bust in and steal it."

"It's not that easy." I responded, "Ren was able to trace back the signal they sent to activate Zerath's kill chip, but unfortunately it wasn't all the way back to the source. So we still don't know exactly where they are, but we have a lead."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rex asked, stepping forward.

Ozpin cleared his throat, "I thought you'd never ask. Team Sahara, this will be your first mission. We've already pulled thermal imaging of the facility Ren found, and we have reason to believe that it's entirely abandoned."

Glynda opened up her tablet and began typing, "I'll send you the specifics, but this is strictly a reconnaissance and information gathering mission only. Execute with extreme caution though, we still don't know what that facility was for… or why the signal was pinged there."

"Why can't we help?" Blake spoke up for the first time.

Blake already knew about most of this, so I'm not surprised that she's been so quiet. Rideat and Anna also knew about my death being fake; the prior for obvious reasons. So they didn't need to be informed about all this.

"Because, miss Belladonna, classes start up again tomorrow and there is no need for more than one team to be missing them for an entire two days." Ozpin informed her, as well as the rest of my friends.

"It's the start of the second semester, please don't take it lightly or neglect your responsibilities." Glynda followed up.

There were a few groans from the group, but they _did_ sign up for at least learning a thing or two here. So they accepted it.

"That brings me to my third reason." I spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention again. "I can't have word get out that I'm alive, so you all need to keep it a secret. I also need someone to take notes for me in class since I can't actually attend any of them for now."

"I'll do it. We have the same classes together anyway." Blake spoke up, "Although I can't do the leadership classes for you."

"I can do those." Jaune offered.

"Then it's settled. From here until I say otherwise, I am officially undercover and presumed dead." I leaned forward and moved away from the desk, "Did I miss anything?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

Glynda shook her head and Ozpin gave me a thumbs up.

"Great, well I'm going to get some sleep now. I'm exhausted." I stuffed my hands in my sweatshirt pocket and moved around the group, "Good night guys, if anyone asks… tell them I'm dead."

* * *

**Option two; Skyla is perceptive enough to figure it out as well as assess the situation. So, she decided to try and distract her friends with her antics in an effort to cheer them up.**

**She was successful.**

**Okay, so there were a couple references in this one. First of all, there is a very hilarious video called 'Sherlock Sucks at Deduction' by Pete Holmes. If you haven't seen it already, it's a ridiculous parody about the idea behind a 'what if' question.**

**That being; "What if Sherlock was completely and horribly **_**wrong**_** with his in-depth assumptions?"**

**It's more than an enjoyable video, if you ask me.**

**Anyway, I also referenced a bit of Scooby Doo. But it was essentially just a small known quote, so it wasn't much. I grew up watching those episodes though so it was a nod to one of my favorite childhood shows.**

**Haha, I just noticed the title actually references the references I referenced in this chapter.**

**Reference inception!**

**Anyway, now you get to have a look into Xera's past. Woo! I'm not too sure how exciting that actually sounds, but there is an interesting story behind what happened five years ago. Anyone interested?**

**Maybe you're not interested. Might I interest you in some food for thought to potentially give you a taste of what's to come?**

**How did Xera get a fire affinity? Or Zerath an ice affinity?**

**Exactly what happened five years ago?**

**Who killed Leona?**

**Who is the antagonist that was revealed two chapters ago?**

**What's at the facility that Ren found when tracing back the 'kill signal' to find its source?**

**Is your mouth watering yet? I hope it is, because I'll cover more than these in the chapters to come. Oh, and you know what. Vulderak is coming back. He's been… on a bit of a hunt. Let's just say, he's been trying to find someone.**

_**REVIEW!**_** Let me know what you guys are thinking. Anything and everything is appreciated.**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, I'll see you in the next one.**

**Cya XD**


	53. Ravagers

**Guess what's tomorrow?**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 53: Ravagers

**Xera's POV**

I was so close.

So… very close… to escape.

I was steps away, mere moments from triumph. Just two more seconds… and I would've been home free.

But… I guess this was unavoidable…

"Xera, why didn't you tell us before?"

I leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Three familiar faces looking at me from the front and blocked the only exit I had. Somehow, they slipped inside just as the elevator doors were closing.

The floors were ticking by at an agonizingly slow pace, each number threatening to stay a second longer the more I looked at it.

"Yeah, we're your team. You know how we feel about the faunus." Allix agreed with Skyla's earlier question.

"It's not that I didn't want to tell you…" I sighed, resting my head against the cool metal of the wall. "…I _couldn't_ tell you." There were so many reasons why I couldn't tell them. Not yet anyway. For as far as I know, whoever's hunting me would likely hunt those that know of the likes of me instead. It'd only be a matter of time before one of my friends got hurt.

But now? This was the safest possible time to tell them, and now that I'm presumed dead. We can finally make some headway into identifying whoever's behind this. The pressure had finally been reduced, it might even be completely gone.

Still though, someone has to be on top. Someone has to be behind all this. And for what?

"I guess we understand that… it's just…" Allix trailed off, looking away.

Rex rested his hand on Allix's shoulder and looked toward me, "It would've been nice to know." He finished for her.

"I…" I closed my eyes. _I trust them. I really do. But there's no rhyme or reason to letting them get hurt because of me. _"I know, and I do trust you. But in the end… it's still a risk for you guys." I tried to put an explanation behind my reasons.

"Well, we're involved now. Just… promise that you'll open up to us, when you're ready."

A small smile settled across my lips. "I can do that." I said, breathing a sigh of relief. The small elevator slowly dinged by a few times, echoing in the now silent compartment.

I suddenly felt a light tugging on my sweatshirt. Lifting my arm, I looked over and saw Skyla eyeing my side.

***Tug***

She pulled at my sweatshirt.

"Skyla?" I asked, but she gave no response. Instead, she crouched down and leaned in, as if to get a closer look.

"What are you-"

***Tug***

"Hmmm…" She hummed in thought, feeling the material between her fingers before poking and prodding it.

_Why does that feel so nice? _Every touch sent a reverberating tingle through my feathers. A sense of quickly cooling relaxation washed over me as more of my feathers were ruffled by the pressure.

I kept my arm lifted and tried to ignore her for now. At this point, I think it'd be a blessing to finally release my wings inside our dorm room. But… I don't think I'm ready to show them that.

Not right now.

"Can we talk about this in the morning?" Allix asked lightly.

A soft ding followed her question, and I looked up to see that we had made it to the ground floor. The doors slid open soon after, but no one made a point to move.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed to the terms and gave a small nod.

We filed out of the small elevator and turned toward our dormitory wing. It was late, dark even, and fall was finally transitioning into winter. It was getting colder by the day.

But for some reason…

I've always slept better in the colder months.

_Maybe it was because I was born in the fall…_

* * *

'_Team Sahara. Your mission is to observe and recover any information that you find viable to the end goal. The facility you will be scavenging is located within the Krono Desert. The temperature should not be a problem however.'_

'_You will be accompanied by Professor Miralla. She is proficient in survivalist training and tracking. She will be over watching the mission. Overall, this should be relatively simple. However, should you meet opposition, she has orders to bring you back to Beacon if she deems it necessary.'_

I read the message sitting in my scroll's inbox. Caza Miralla, she's that teacher with the nevermore. Skyla nearly got her hand bitten off by the little guy.

Even though he's not that little… he's kind of big actually. I'm surprised he's still a juvenile.

Lanza was it?

I think that was his name.

Backing out of the message, I noticed a new one sitting up at the top. It must have come in this morning since it was still unread. Tapping on it, I opened the screen and noticed it was sent by a scroll with administrative access.

_Ozpin? What does he want? _I began reading through the message, but he couldn't have been more vague about it. I wonder why I was the only one that got the message.

'_Xera, I have a favor to ask of you. Something of interest resides somewhere within that facility. My task to you is to find it, and bring it back here. You'll know it when you see it.'_

What could possibly be there that Ozpin has taken an interest in? And where could it even be? _This thing better be as obvious as he says it is._

"Looks like our ride is here." Rex commented.

I looked up and pocketed my scroll, noticing the bullhead that was flying in from the city. "Yeah, at least that's here. Where's Professor Miralla?" I asked, sliding off the windowsill and landing on the ground.

Rex pushed the door open and almost immediately, a gust of brisk wind whipped through the opening and riffled through my clothes.

We headed out to meet the bullhead when it landed.

"Xera… why you no warm?" Skyla asked from beside me. Her hair was constantly fanning around, easily thwarted by the breeze rushing over Beacon's cliff sides.

Shrugging my shoulders, I kept up my pace and turned back to the small airship. "It's windy. I'm not too sure a heater will work too well against that." I commented.

"F-fine…" She huffed then got behind me, staying low as she did so, "Y-you're my w-windshield t-then!" I felt her clutch onto my sweatshirt.

Looks like I didn't have much of a choice. Oh well, if anything, I actually like the wind. So I don't mind.

"You two alright? Need a wind wall?" I asked, and looked over. Rex was walking nonchalantly, but Allix was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where's Allix?"

I looked behind us, maybe she was still inside. But it didn't look like she was anywhere by the doors or the windows. It wasn't until I looked back that I noticed a flash of red behind Rex.

Allix peaked her head out from behind Rex's back; ears clad in her headphones, and gave me a thumbs up. I guess her headphones doubled as earmuffs as well.

"Man, we're finally doing our first mission together." Rex said, lacing his fingers together and stretching his arms out. A few audible cracks pierced the wind before he rested his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, although, does that camping trip count?" I responded.

He just shook his head with a laugh, "Sneaking out and sleeping in the forest doesn't count. If anything, that was more of a death wish."

"It was worth it though." I smiled, remembering one of the reasons why I have a snack compartment in my locker.

"You were looking for treasure!" Allix commented, poking her head out again.

"Woo! Treasure!" I heard Skyla cheer.

"It was an awesome adventure though." I chuckled and glanced at Allix. She pouted, but receded back into her shield wall for cover. She had fun, I know she did.

We didn't get killed in our sleep after all. We had lookouts for that.

I looked ahead and watched the bullhead touch down. It didn't look like it was equipped with any weaponry, but its flight was fairly silent. Perhaps a stealth based vessel?

A few seconds after touchdown, I heard an ear ringing screech from behind us. A certain someone latched onto me as I looked around. Up in the clear blue sky was Professor Miralla. She sailed down from wherever it was she was perched and landed with a light thud beside our ride.

Beneath our teacher was Lanza. He shook his head and ruffled his feathers before looking at us, eyeing each of us individually before lingering on me.

I gave him a small wave, to which he squawked in content with and clawed the ground.

"Good girl, who's momma's little biscuit?" Caza hugged Lanza's neck and scratched his feathers. The young nevermore cooed in delight to the attention and closed his eyes.

"Sup teach!" Rex called out as we approached, coming to a stop just before her and our bullhead.

Her dark blue eyes looked up to meet ours, a black cowboy hat the only thing keeping her equally long blue hair in check. Her gaze was surprisingly laidback, not at all serious in anyway.

She leaned back and pet Lanza on the back of his neck, settling in a comfortable position. "Ah, so you're the team I'm looking after. You all ready to go on a mission?" Our professor asked in a lighthearted tone.

_She's definitely here to have fun… or to kill stuff… maybe both. _"Yeah, we're good to go." I responded, drawing her eyes to me. _Hey, no fair. Rex! Quick! Say something!_

"Hey, I know you!" Professor Miralla slipped off of Lanza's back and approached me. "You're the cutie who befriended my little Lanza." She stopped a few feet in front of me and placed her hands on her hips. The black tails of her trench coat seemed to settle down as the wind slowed a bit.

"I-I was just looking out for my partner." I responded. As if on cue, Skyla looked around my side and met eyes with the woman.

"Yo." My partner said with a smile and a wave. _Just smile and wave Skyla… smile and wave…_

"Nonsense." The professor laughed and took a step forward, "No _one_, has _ever_ gotten onto Lanza's good side but _me_." She spoke with a smile and growing interest. "And here _you_ are. My Lanza has taken a liking to you for some reason."

"Maybe he had sunflower seeds in his pocket." Skyla offered as I felt her subtly slide a bag of sunflower seeds into my pocket.

Professor Miralla just lifted an eyebrow at that, "If that was all it took to tame a grimm, then everyone would be doing it." Her eyes remained fixed on me for a while longer. I looked around her and saw Lanza grooming his feathers. He seemed content with just sitting over there, completely docile. My eyes kept roaming as the seconds ticked by.

I bit my lip, and eventually looked back to her. She finally sighed and stepped forward a little more, placing her hand on my chest.

"I'll find out eventually, be sure of that."

Leaning back a bit, I increased the distance from us by a little. _Hopefully she didn't feel my wings. I should really find a better way to wrap them around myself. _She looked down at my chest for a second, her hand remaining completely still. For a second, I think I saw a moment of curiosity flash over her eyes.

"Well, alright. Let's go then!" She suddenly smiled and leaned away. Flashing me a wink, she walked back to Lanza with a natural sway to her hips.

"She likes you." I heard Rex comment from beside me.

I reached over and punched him in the side, but my fist struck something hard. I looked over and noticed Rex just looking ahead. "Dude, are you wearing armor under there?"

He looked down, as if this was the first he noticed my fist against his side. Maybe he really didn't feel it.

"Nope! Get stronger bud, maybe I'll actually feel that next time." He gave me a wide smile before heading into bullhead.

_I don't think strength is the issue…_ I thought as I noticed Allix walk into the bullhead as well, ducking inside and letting out a long sigh.

"Heat… it feels so nice…" I heard her comment.

"I'll be flying alongside the bullhead. So take off whenever you like." Professor Miralla informed me. I looked at her one last time and saw her eating my bag of sunflower seeds. She just gave me a cheeky smile and fed some to Lanza as well.

I looked down and felt my sweatshirt pocket. _Yep, nothing's in there. _"Skyla, you need to be sneakier when slipping stuff into people's pockets." I chuckled and patted her on the head.

She giggled and stepped around me, "I was totally sneaky though."

She disappeared into the bullhead and I followed soon after, walking up the back hatch and into the body of the ship.

* * *

"It's like a sandy ocean out there." Skyla said as she looked out the window. She had her hands pressed against the walls of the bullhead as she gazed through the glass.

"Well, I heard deserts are _full_ of the stuff." Allix commented from the other side of the bullhead interior. She was sitting on one of the seats connected to the wall.

"Hey, I know that. No need to be sarcastic." Skyla turned and stuck her tongue out at Allix. "Meanie!"

Allix fell to her side, clutching her heart. "Ow… the pain, oh it hurts! I've been hit!" She laughed as she rolled over.

"Ahah! I am victorious! The mighty Allix has been slain!" Skyla cheered, running over and standing triumphantly over the downed archer.

"Gotcha!" Allix suddenly rolled over and grabbed Skyla's legs, pulling her down to the floor as the two tumbled.

With a lot of wiggling and rolling, Skyla scrambled to her feet and hopped away, "You'll never catch me alive!"

Rex reached over and effortlessly snatched Skyla into his arms. It was a weird thing. He didn't actually look bulky with muscles, but it was easy to tell he was pretty strong.

"G-gah! I've been had!" Skyla whined as she pried at Rex's arms uselessly, only prompting him to pull her into his chest even more.

"I win." He smiled.

Allix got up in the meantime and smiled triumphantly, "Good job partner."

_Not on my watch. _I cast deception and walked around Allix, situating myself in front of Rex and a struggling Skyla. Getting into position, I tensed the muscles in my legs and crouched down. As soon as I was ready, I leapt over him and grabbed Skyla's outstretched hand.

The sudden redirected pull was enough of a surprise for me to flip and land on the other side, a somewhat free Skyla now on the verge of escaping.

"Not so fast Rex." I said, pulling Skyla further out of his reach and giving her a fist bump as she passed. "Looks like you've been duped."

"Yay! I'm free!" Skyla exclaimed, whipping out her purple rocket launcher.

"Skyla, WAIT-"

The whole bullhead suddenly shook violently, throwing me to the ground. The whole interior shook at an angle before suddenly shifting and shaking again.

"Turbulence?" I questioned, turning to look to the cockpit.

The intercom buzzed to life before the whole bullhead felt like it just took a sharp dive, "Two bogies just intercepted our flight path. Get strapped in!" The sound cut off and a loud thump ripped through the air of the ship. Its sound vibrating the entire hull and shaking my legs.

"Alright, you heard the pilot. Buckle up everyone; we're in for a rough ride." I called out, finding my balance and pulling Skyla to her feet. I threw us both into the nearest seats and buckled up, she did the same.

"What's attacking us?!" She asked, looking out the window.

I looked out too, but couldn't make anything out. It was just a clear blue sky.

"I'm not sure." Allix spoke up, probably looking out her own window.

"Whatever it is, it's probably big." I said.

"Nevermore?" Rex asked.

"Maybe…" I responded just as a blur of black whipped by the window I was staring out of. There was another loud crash from behind me and I heard Allix yelp, rearing back from her window on the opposite side.

"Big, definitely big!" She confirmed.

"Did you see it?" Rex asked.

She nodded frantically and looked back out the window, "It didn't look like a nevermore."

I looked back out my own window to see Lanza fly by with Professor Miralla on his back. She was firing a heavy .44 caliber magnum at the grimm that was attacking us. She was probably trying to keep them both off our ship.

Heavy scraping sounds tore at my ears as the opposite wall began to dent inward. _No way those things can break through these walls, can they? _My question was soon answered by a large black claw piercing through the indented metal.

The appendage tore downward and broke the seal of pressure we had within the bullhead. My messy hair whipped around as the wind surged in through that tiny hole, and it only got bigger the more the beast tore through the wall.

I barely heard it over the rushing winds, but the sound of a gunshot echoed through the atmosphere and into the chamber we resided in. Outside that tiny hole, the claw receded and a deafening screech shook the bullhead.

"Compartment depressurizing! I need to bring her down!" The intercom suddenly broke through the noise. It was beginning to get jumbled with the ringing in my ears.

I could feel the ship start to descend slowly, and just outside Caza and Lanza were doing their best to get whatever it was that was attacking us to back off. Looking out the window, the ground was still a fair ways away.

"Why can't aura give us oxygen again?!" Skyla asked, clutching onto her seatbelt.

"If it could do that, we'd be able to breath underwater!" I responded over the noise.

I was suddenly jerked to the side by the force of another crash, but this time the whole bullhead began to spin. My left became my right, and no sooner had we been hit, we were hit again. The second probably struck us in the tail and sent the ship further out of control.

"Mayday, mayday, emergency crash landing! Hold on!"

This time, the intercom was crackling and struggling, but I heard it. We started descending a hell of a lot faster than before as the pilot tried to get us to the ground at a shallow angle.

Everything became a blur as I felt us hurtle downward. It felt like a full minute passed of whirling and violent shaking before the intercom came back on.

"Impact in 5!"

_Four… three… two… _I held on tight just as we struck the ground. My body was thrown forward then slammed back against the wall, sending spikes of pain through my back in more places than one. The world went dizzy for a few seconds, my head throbbing as the bullhead continued to shake and bounce.

Vibrations coursed through every vein in my body as the floor scraped the desert ground, bouncing off of every rock and stone the sands could probably throw at us.

After another fifteen or so seconds, or was it a minute? I don't know anymore, but we slowly ground to a stop. As the momentum finally diminished, the balance of the bullhead shifted and the body tilted backward until it hit something hard again.

"You kids alright back there?" The pilot asked over the intercom again.

I looked around. Allix was mostly dazed, but she looked alright, Rex was fine, and Skyla may or may not have enjoyed herself. "We're good!" I called out, sure he could hear me.

"Great. Get your gear together, I'm afraid you'll be walking from here on out. I'll stay and try to get the engines back up and running." With that, the voice clicked off and we were left in a dulled silence.

"Woo! Who's up for round two?!" Skyla asked, arms in the air and panting; a huge smile glued across her face.

I raised my hand encouragingly. "I'm in, but first, let's go knock some birds out of the sky." I replied as I unbuckled and hurriedly stood up. With a moment to stabilize myself and stop my head from spinning, I made my way over to the back and hit the emergency override button.

A line of sunlight cracked open blindingly as the hatch door lowered, the rift growing brighter the more the door opened.

"How's our professor doing?" Allix asked over my shoulder, she had just unbuckled and stood up.

Lifting up my hand to shade my eyes, I walked out as the door contacted the ground and looked up. High in the sky, our teacher's nevermore was locked in an aerial confrontation with a mass of feathers and bulk. Its twin circled around the two as the two birds clawed at each other, Lanza being slightly smaller than its adversary.

"What are they?" Rex asked, stepping out behind me.

"Ravagers."

I looked over and saw Allix holding her scroll to the sky. "It says here that they resemble giant vultures, and they dwell in hot sandy habitats. They usually don't have many human encounters at all. They're talons can pierce thick metal and their beaks can shatter stone."

"Good to know." I said, nodding my thanks to Allix. Good thing our scrolls came with grimm identifiers.

I glanced back up just in time to see our professor jam a gleaming black combat knife into the ravager's eye before forcing Lanza to back away.

"What's she doing?! She had him on the ropes!" Rex questioned, cupping his eyes and watching the scene.

The massive vulture screeched in anger and pain and made a frantic swipe for Lanza, but the nevermore swooped downward and dove toward the surface. The injured ravager followed, rage seeping out of its eyes as it extended its talons; the second ravager not far behind its brethren.

Black wisps of smoke trailed out from the gash in the ravager's eye, but all it did was continue to screech and snap at the air. After a few moments, it's momentum began to waver and its wings began to twitch mid-dive.

"NOW LANZA!" Caza yelled, pulling upward on her bird's feathers. Lanza's beak turned upward and his wings spanned outward to catch the wind. The nevermore came to an abrupt halt, and then redirected the gale of wind to angle outward, forcing their falling form to dodge the diving ravager.

Lanza maneuvered around the second one as well, but it was too late for the first. Its now smoldering eye socket caused it to screech once again, its vision probably long gone now as it collided head first with a faraway sand dune.

It writhed and flapped, flailing in the sand and rising dust cloud. Before long, whatever wound that consumed its eyes soon consumed its entire head… and then…

…it was completely gone.

"What kind of dagger is that?" I asked, not really looking for a real answer. But to humor the thoughts of those around me.

"Better question… what the hell just happened?" Rex asked.

Another screech shook the sky, and we looked up to see the second ravager make a wide swoop and blindside Caza and Lanza. The giant vulture was seething with vengeance as it put its full weight into that collision.

"Guys! She's falling!" Skyla yelled, all of us now out of the bullhead.

"Quick! Rex, Skyla, catch her! Allix, you and I are going to bring that ravager to the ground!" I ordered, drawing my blades and running toward the airborne battle.

An arrow was already loosed over my head and into the fray, swirling through the air as it pierced the wind. Its sharp head colliding with the diving ravager, just below the eye, but the shaft shattered on impact.

"It's got tough hide." I heard Allix inform from behind, she seemed to be keeping up.

"Then aim for its eyes! Don't hesitate." My reply caused Allix to grunt and draw another arrow, sending it up in no time at all. We needed to pull the ravager's agro away from Caza. Lanza should be fine, he was sent barreling to the side but he has wings. Our professor on the other hand, she was still free falling just beneath the snapping beak of that vulture. I had to hand it to her though, even now, she was still firing her magnum at the ravager chasing after her.

This time, Allix's arrow went wide and struck the beast's wing instead. Again, it did miniscule to no damage.

"I'm going to get under it, just keep firing. Aim as carefully as you can though, we _need_ that golden bullseye!" I called out as I charged forward, blades scraping the sand as I ran.

Allix's arrows were suddenly accompanied by a storm of electrified crossbow bolts. They were clustered into a wide spread, but they were still making contact with the nevermore at most of its points.

_Looks like Rex is close enough to start firing._ I thought as I made my way over. I reached the drop zone just before Skyla did, who was closely followed by Rex. A silver cartridge was removed from his large crossbow-axe as he pocketed it and slid a full clip back into the body of his weapon.

"We aren't doing crap to this thing." He commented, looking straight up.

"I noticed." I grit my teeth and looked up too. Another one of Allix's arrows missed it's mark by a small margin, but still no solid hits.

"Damn it, Skyla, get ready to catch her. Rex… I want you to throw me." I stated. I gripped my curved blades and rolled my shoulders.

"You want me to throw you?" Rex questioned.

"Yeah." I confirmed, not taking my eyes off of my target. "Give it everything you've got."

As I was considering explaining myself, Rex picked me up by the waist and placed one of his hand beneath the soles of my sneakers. "Alright, but don't expect a first class flight!" He grunted as his eyes pooled red.

Undying Rage spiked his strength, and that was all he needed. He pulled me back and tensed every muscle in his body.

"HRRRAAHH!" With the propulsion of a rocket, I was thrown into the air with enough force to blow back the sands below me. Wind yanked at my clothes as I surged upward. My bangs stung my eyes as they whipped my face, nearly blinding me on the way up.

I passed by the falling professor, our eyes met in an extraordinarily brief confrontation before we went our separate ways.

A few feet away was my intended target. I crossed my swords and tucked in my legs, centralizing the majority of my body mass. _Please don't eat me. _I prayed as the ravager's beak gaped open to engulf me.

Uncrossing my blades last minute, I jabbed the swords outward and caught the sides of the vulture's beak in the curve of each blade. My arms screamed in agony from the sudden pull, but soon soothed over in a cool wave of numbness due to my aura. Hopefully I didn't tear any muscles there.

Planting my feet down, I took one blade out and used the other as leverage, pulling myself out and around the beak before it could close on me. Immediately, I was met with the malicious eye of the ravager as it snapped its head at my body, trying to get a piece or two within reach.

"Sorry, I probably don't taste too good anyway." I smirked and hung on tight after quickly attaching my blades to my back. The ravage began spinning and whipping its head around, turning itself into a flailing mess of feathers. It was trying everything it can to throw me off.

Sharp feathers scraped my hands as I gripped them tightly, my whole body whipping around to the whim of the ravager's head. With a grunt of effort, I held on tighter and pulled my body over. Situating myself so I straddled its beak, I found as much balance I could and drew one of my blades.

"Hold…" I pulled my arm back, "…still!" Then plunged it forward, stabbing the curved tip of my sharp blade into the eye of the aggravated vulture I was plummeting to the ground with.

Oh… right… plummeting to the ground.

My eyes widened as I looked down, to my dismay… the ground was only a hundred feet away; give or take a few feet.

_Crap crap crap crap crap… crap! _I sheathed my blade and grabbed on to any reachable feathers I could find, then pulled myself over the grimm's head. Taking the lightest and fastest steps I've ever taken, I made a beeline for the tail and ran as fast as I could.

My legs quickly filled with aura, and every step increased my speed by a slight margin. _Come on! _I was across the body and making headway for the tail in a few seconds flat. _COME ON! _I put every last ounce of energy into a final lunge for the tail then jumped…

Arms reaching out into the air, my legs kicked and swung as they left contact with the avian grimm. Beneath me, I heard a massive weight impact the ground. The force of the crash literally blew through my clothes as I continued to fall, shrouding me in a mess of dust.

All of a sudden though, something collided into my side. Whatever air in my lungs I had left, was ripped out of my mouth as I gasped in pain and grabbed at whatever it was that hit me.

***Squawk!***

"Lanza?" I looked down, and I was currently grasping the feather's along a nevermore's back. "Lanza!" I smiled carelessly, giving the bird a small hug as we dove for the ground. He glided just above the surface before catching the wind and making contact.

Beside us, Caza was just climbing out of a cradle of ribbons and Rex was currently hacking his axe into the ravager wherever he could; the occasional arrow flying in as well whenever Rex stepped away. In no time at all, those two were able to end the giant vulture's life before it could end ours.

"Hey, how were your skydiving lessons?" I asked humorously as Caza landed on the ground.

She looked up at me and gave me a huge smile, "They were great. A bit expensive though, I think my pride's the one that took the hit in the end however." She stretched her back and arms, completely accentuating her already generous bust.

"Lanza's awesome by the way." I added, patting the nevermore on the head and scratching his neck.

"Oh yeah, no companion is as amazing as my little biscuit." She cooed as she walked over and pulled Lanza's beak, embracing the bird's head in a hug. "Isn't that right my little Lanza?"

Lanza ruffled his feathers again and let out a small squawk.

I laughed a bit and hopped off, welcoming myself back to the surface of Remnant.

* * *

**Caza and Lanza are back. These are two OCs that were submitted by 'The Baz' a while back, and I felt like bringing them in again. I figured it'd be fun.**

**I hope you guys are excited; Volume 3 of RWBY comes out tomorrow! Yay! Saturday, October 24 is the day they air the first episode. I can't wait! Which is why this has been posted today. Get that hype train rolling, because a new Meta is coming people.**

**And it is going to be awesome.**

_**REVIEW!**_** Let me know what you guys think or if you're excited as well. Just say whatever you want, we'll read it. This is all for the sake of fun anyway.**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, I'll see you in the next one.**

**Cya XD**


	54. Cactus Juice

**Just will like to point something out… mushrooms don't grow in deserts. But they do grow in caves… so I'll just use that as an excuse.**

**XP**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 54: Cactus Juice

**Xera's POV**

"Skyla, what are you doing?" I asked. My gaze transitioned from the messy purple knot of a sweater down to Skyla's bare arms.

"I'm… trying…" She grunted, tugging and pulling as she attempted to wrap her head in the article of clothing. "…to… DO THIS! Why you no work?!"

My partner stomped the ground and pouted, the wrap quickly unfolding from her hands and draping completely over her face. Her sleeve swayed outward as she let out an exasperated puff of air, clearly annoyed.

"It's not hard. I'm sure there's an easy way." I offered.

"Lies." Skyla muttered beneath her sweater, her face completely hidden now.

We walked at the back of the group, the rest of our team moving at our front. Allix and Rex walked alongside Caza, and far above us slowly flew Lanza.

"May I?" I asked, smiling confidently as I stepped over to my partner. There was a disgruntled and annoyed grumble from the girl as she crossed her arms indignantly. If I could see her face, she would most likely be pouting right now.

After a few more seconds of quietly walking side by side, she huffed in defeat and threw her sweater off her head. "Fine! I was gonna give up anyway…"

I caught the fluttering sweater out of the air and examined the piece of fashion. _Piece of cake…_

Skyla looked away as I wrapped her head. It took several minutes, and a lot of whining. The sun beat down around us as the group marched forward, sets of boots, heels, and shoes crunching the loose sands below as we walked.

Five minutes now passed, and I stepped back to examine my work. Skyla looked upward in excitement as well, both of us now gazing at the sweater atop her head.

…

…

…and then we both watched in horror as the article unraveled and draped over her head again.

"Well… I guess it really wasn't that easy then." I stated, placing a hand on my chin as I crossed one arm beneath the other.

Skyla let out a quiet whine and hung her head low, watching the ground pass by her converse sneakers below. "The movies make it look so easy." She said in a dejected tone.

I heard a sigh from up ahead, and I looked over to see Allix slump her shoulders. The girl then slowed her pace and turned to look at us.

"Give me the sweater." She said, holding out her hand. It was a friendly and quiet tone, but with a hint of command to it.

Skyla slid the light cloth off her head and dropped it into Allix's open hand.

Allix smiled her thanks and fanned it out using both hands. She gave it a quick once over before nodding her head and moving toward Skyla. The girl worked quickly. Every fold was precise, every time she wrapped a sleeve around Skyla's forehead it seemed to lock into place, a perfectly placed fold or overlap being right there for her to use

"Done."

I watched as the archer stepped back, admiring her work for a second or two before returning to the front.

Skyla simply looked up at her newly adorned feature.

Her eyes dancing back and forth as she seemed to slowly realize it was actually staying on her head. Small fists balled up as her excitement began to leak out of her. Those very fists shook back and forth rapidly as she stopped and bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Eeee, thank you!" She exclaimed, a huge smile quickly appearing on her face as she dashed over and latched her arms around Allix in a tight hug.

Allix let out a small squeak from the impact and leaned her head away from the overly excited girl. "T-too close… don't you realize how hot it is?"

"Thank you! This… is… so… awesome!" Skyla ignored her and tightened her hold.

Before Allix could consider berating my partner, Skyla let go and leapt into the air, skipping a few times after she landed.

"Don't let that thing come loose with all that movement!" I called out, watching as she slowed down and took slower skips, a large smile still on her face.

I could only smile as well. Somehow, she found a lot of enjoyment in that… and I did too.

"Your partner… is strangely cute." Caza commented, giving the girl a glance then looking back at me. Her deep blue hair swayed to the light breeze blowing across the sand dunes all around us. Her cowboy hat providing an excellent amount of shade for her, but her trench coat was nowhere in sight.

Probably strapped to Lanza.

"I guess so." I responded with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Oh? Is that so?" The woman said as she matched my pace. "She's undoubtedly cute and if you are half the man I think you are, you'd probably at least have some sort of feelings for her by now. Why is that?"

Looking away, I watched the horizon in the distance in an attempt to avoid looking at her. "I-I'm already in a relationship."

"Hmm." Caza hummed, stepping around to situate herself in front of me again. "Shame. You're interesting. I wonder who the lucky girl is…"

"Blake Belladonna!"

"Rex!" I exclaimed, eyeing the tall guy up front who just yelled out my girlfriend's name. All he did was flash me a thumbs up and give me a crooked smirk. That idiot.

"Belladonna huh? Wow…" Caza raised her eyebrows as I looked back to her.

"Y-yeah, I'm pretty lucky."

"Luck doesn't even cut it honey." Caza sighed, running a hand across the rim of her hat as she looked me up and down. "She's pretty lucky too."

Embarrassment quickly washed over me as I looked away, not finding any sort of response to give.

"Ah, see! You're cute, I like that." The young professor smiled, placing a gentle finger on my chest. I instinctively stepped back, my feathers sensitive to the pressure.

Again, she quirked a delicate eyebrow as she looked at my chest. _She's going to find out eventually… maybe even soon. _I realized.

"May I ask you something?" I asked instead, changing the subject.

"Ask away." The brunette replied with a wink.

My eyes dashed around, looking for something to be the subject of my question. _Her hat? No, that's too simple. _Continuing my quick search, I caught a glint of steel out of the corner of my eye and a moment of relief flashed before my eyes.

"That trench knife. I saw you use it, but how does it work?" I asked, nodding to the combat knife handle sticking out of a holster at her waist.

Caza looked down at her hips and grazed her fingers across her weapon's intricate handle. "This reinforced nine inch blade was given to me by my father. It's been in our family for generations." She said, eyeing the sheathed knife fondly.

But there was something else in her eyes.

"It was named Corruption, because of what it's capable of." She dropped her usual playful or flirty gaze, and leveled into a serious disposition.

_It was fear. _I realized as I listened.

"One cut, and you're as good as dead. The decay process is only slowed by your will, but any living creature will inevitably die eventually. No one knows why, or how to counteract it, but that's the reason why I very rarely draw it." She sighed, dropping her hand off the handle.

"Do you know what it's made of?" I asked, wondering what could possibly be the cause of this blade's ability.

Professor Miralla just shook her head, "No. The only thing identifiable on it is the handle. It's carved from the mask of an extremely powerful grimm my grandfather killed years ago."

"Whoa, really?!" Skyla suddenly hopped up to my side, eyeing the trench knife excitedly. "Your grandfather must have been super strong."

The woman nodded with a smile, "You bet your cutie-booty he was. He was one of the best actually." Caza said fondly, placing a hand on her hip.

"How did he find a grimm that strong?" Allix asked, joining the conversation.

"It wasn't by chance, if that's what you're wondering." Professor Miralla responded. "Did you know grimm hold grudges?" She asked, looking to Allix now.

The archer shook her head, but her partner seemed to respond to the question.

"Yeah, they have a sickening sense for revenge. Especially to specific people that they've previously encountered and were injured by." Rex said, his hands behind his head. His dark blue short-sleeved t-shirt on show since his trench coat was wrapped around his waist.

"Precisely. My grandfather had a run-in with it once, and ever since then it hunted him across the world. One night, it wandered into a city and it was then that my grandfather had to risk his life to kill it." Caza recalled, looking up at the cloudless blue sky.

"He sounds like a great guy." I commented, "I would've loved to meet him."

Caza looked back down, a thoughtful expression on her face as she spared a glance at me, "Yeah, I would've loved to meet him too."

* * *

"Is anybody else thirsty? Or is it just me?" Skyla asked, looking around at the rest of us.

"Yeah, we all are. But we need to conserve water until we know we have a pickup available." I responded to my dazed partner.

She suddenly stopped and grabbed at a pouch on her waist, "We were conserving water?!"

The rest of us nodded numbly, to her utter dismay.

"Sometimes we never know how long we'll be on a mission Skyla. So it's good to be prepared." Allix informed the distraught girl, who is now pouting.

"Allix is right, it's one of the important guidelines to survival. That… and actually surviving that is." Professor Miralla added. "It's actually quite basic."

Skyla stared in disbelief at her professor, and then to everyone else. To her relief though, Rex seemed to be fidgeting a bit and keeping himself distracted.

"Ahah! Your face has betrayed you! You too have run out of water!" She exclaimed accusingly, sprinting over and nabbing Rex's empty water canister.

"W-what?! N-no! That's a lie!"

That's right big guy. Protect your dignity. Although, that's one of the things Skyla excels at obliterating.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!~" My purple bundle of hype sing-songed before tossing the hollow container back to Rex and hopping over to a nearby cactus.

_Oh, please don't tell me she's- _"Skyla, I wouldn't…" It was too late.

Skyla looked up, sword in hand and half of a cactus-arm in the other. It was almost bowl shaped, perfect for drinking its juices like a cup. She hummed in questionable acknowledgement with the 'bowl' already tilted and some cactus juice dripping down her chin.

She satisfied her thirst and discarded the now useless cactus piece. "Wow, that was thirst quenching. So, Xera? What were you saying?"

I could only sigh, "We don't know what that stuff can do to you. Our aura can give us a slight advantage against alcohol and drugs, but still… we can't counter hallucinations too easily."

My partner quirked an eyebrow at that, "Pfft, you're looking at someone who eats sweets every day!" She extended her arms wide in a proud manor. "I'm practically immune to this kind of s-s-stuuuuuuuuuuuuuffff…"

Her eyes suddenly dilated to a ridiculous size, and her lips quivered into a dumb smile.

"Oh no…" Allix rested her face in her palm. Caza merely watched on in amusement while Rex took off running. Perhaps he was still having nightmares about Skyla high on candy?

"Oh my god! This stuff is amazing. You guys have to try it!" She suddenly kicked the sand and nearly tipped over, slicing a new piece off in doing so and offering it to me. "It's super quenchie! This stuff's the quenchiest!"

…

Looking past the cactus bowl and into Skyla's dilated eyes, I simply moved her hand out of the way a bit with my own hand. "Yeah, I don't think any of us should be drinking this stuf-"

***Woosh***

Out of nowhere, Lanza swoops in and snatches the juice from Skyla's open hand with his beak. Immediately afterward, he ate the whole thing in a single bite.

"L-lanza?! What'd I tell you about these cacti?!" Caza exclaimed, rushing over to her nevermore and opening his beak. It was too late though.

Lanza bowed his head in shame and gave her a 'puppy dog' gaze.

"Bad Lanza."

To which it had no effect.

"Yeah! Bad Lanza! Lanza Bad!" Skyla cheered, strolling over to the juvenile bird and flicking him on the beak.

Before the creature could bite her finger off, Lanza suddenly went limp and fell onto his back. His talon comically twitched a few times as his red eyes seemingly got hazier.

As if to spite this inopportune time, the world seemed to notice our temporary lack of teammates and challenged our desert raid party.

"U-uhh, not to alarm any of you… but that sand dune is shifting!" Allix called out, pointing toward a mountain of sand in the near distance.

Flowing hills and streams of sand tumbled down a slowly rising dune, the tip slowly becoming black with each passing second.

Skyla raised her arms into the air and charged at the unearthing creature, "Waterfall!"

"I got her!" A blur of silver blew past all of us and I watched as Rex scooped the girl up in his arms, immediately turning high tail and getting her out of there.

"Way to go Rex! And I thought you were scared of a hallucinating Sky!" I said, just as he past us.

"I am! See! Look what she's doing!"

I turned around to see Skyla's mouth clamped down on one of Rex's ears.

"She's nibbling on my ear!" Rex exclaimed, hands out to his sides as if to prove something. Skyla's form lifted as well, seemingly attached to his arm with her legs and arms wrapped around it.

"Nmmhmm." Skyla hummed, now drooling.

"I still don't see your point." I replied with a laugh. _Damn, my partner's awesome._

"Lanza? You're in no condition to fight, what are you doing?" I heard from behind me. Caza was trying to pull Lanza back by the tail as the nevermore moved forward to combat the rising menace…

…it would've been admiral…

…

…if he were going the right way.

Lanza squawked and took off, causing Caza to fall onto her rump and look up after her nevermore.

"He'll be fine, right?" I asked, a bit worried since my professor had a bit of a worried look on her face.

She kept her eyes on him as he took to the sky, "He should be."

"Good. Now, how about we deal with this grimm?" Rex stepped up next to Allix and I. A random Skyla dangling from his ear.

"Good question, anyone know what that is?" Allix asked, trying to get a read on the grimm with her scroll.

In front of us, at about 21 feet tall and 19 feet wide at its head, was a… mushroom? What?

It towered over my team and I, pitch black in color and two large red eyes on its stump. The sand beneath it sunk to its movements as it shifted and rotated to fix its glaring gaze upon us.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me. It's called a Sporax. It's known to create sand vortexes and use crushing power blows by utilizing its heavy top portion as a hammer." Allix read off.

"H-hey!"

Rex stumbled as Skyla kicked off of him and gasped, eyes going wide at the site before her. "Giant mushroom!" Her hands shot into the air as she waved her arms frantically, "MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY?!"

"I'll keep an eye on her, you guys go on in." Allix sighed, taking out a string of sorts and tying it to Skyla's swaying arm, then to her own arm.

"Friendly mushroom! Giant mushy wushy fluffy frieeeeend!" Skyla drew out in a light voice, leaning back and forth on her leash.

"Do you three need assistance?" Professor Miralla came up on my left, eyeing the large grimm with us.

"Maybe. But we'll see if we can take it for now." I answered, getting a confident nod from Rex and Allix.

Caza smiled and shifted her weight, placing one hand on her hip, "Alright then, impress me."

"Gladly- OOF!" Rex tumbled forward, a Skyla on a string now straddling his back as she pointed furiously at the giant mushroom and screamed, "YIP YIP MY T-REX! CHAAAAARGE!"

Rex could only groan with a face full of hot sand.

"Giddy-up!" Skyla squealed cutely, "Come on!" She looked down at her mounted teammate with a confusing gleam in her eyes. "Why you no move?"

Lifting a lazy hand into the air, Rex pointed to the grimm and mumbled into the ground, "Just… go… I'll be there… in a bit…"

I cracked an amused smirk and turned to see what Allix was doing. She appeared to just be helplessly tugging lightly on her 'Skyla' leash, an apologetic look on her face as she gazed down at her partner.

"Is this why people seem to think your team is dysfunctional?"

_People think that?! _My eyes snapped to our professor and she just shrugged her shoulders.

She held up her hand to further explain herself, "Dysfunctional yes… but effective nonetheless."

"Okay, yeah… that sounds about right." I sighed, finally drawing my Annivia's Talons in Excalibur mode – _yes, okay. I admit, Ruby's name for it had a nice ring to it_ – and leveled it out at my side, pointing away from me with a straight arm.

"Let's see if we can keep up to those expectations then." I commented offhandedly before running forward, sand kicking up behind my initial push before I lightly stormed across the desert surface in a silent charge.

Giant ruby eyes leveled at me and squinted, the towering menace groaning with every shift as it rumbled the sands beneath my feet.

Before I could even approach its base, the whole head toppled forward and attempted to crush me. With barely enough speed, I was able to change direction and roll out of the way, quickly becoming engulfed in the resulting dust cloud from the impact.

_You need to watch where you're slamming your face bud! _I dashed beneath the rising spore and slashed across its base, dragging my sword deep through its stump. The Sporax gave off a guttural shriek before suddenly swirling on the spot.

"Oh boy." I stumbled, the ground suddenly becoming loose beneath my feet. "Sand vortex… sand vortex!" I scrambled out of there as fast as I could, leaping and sliding over and under tumbling stones, climbing my way out of the sinking pit.

"Allix!" I called out, as soon as I reached the top.

A glint of steel flashed through the air as I looked to see where my archer was. Thankfully, I spotted her just in time to snatch the arrow out of the air and pull its trailing string into my grasp.

"See if you can grapple that into its mouth!" Allix yelled, letting loose a few more dust arrows at the creature's spinning eyes.

I nodded my thanks and gripped the end of the thin rope tightly. It was sleek black and was more durable than an ordinary rope. Above all though, it was an excellent conductor for electricity.

The vortex slowed to a stop before the Sporax prepared for another thundering smash, forcing me to circle the grim and begin spinning the grappling arrow in my hand. "Come on… open wide…"

Another arrow flew in and embedded itself in the grimm's molten red eye, causing it to jerk back and open its jagged mouth on its stump.

_Thank you Allix._ I mentally added as I used the circular motion I forced into the arrow head and sent it soaring through the air.

I watched as the projectile lodged itself between a few razor-like teeth, then pulled the rope taught in my hands to secure it.

"Hey Rex! I need you!" I called out, looking back.

Luckily, Rex was already on his feet and charging over. Skyla was standing idly behind him, rather disappointed but enjoying watching us battle the large mushroom grimm.

"What's with the rope?"

Rex asked his question and skidded to a stop beside me, the two of us eyeing down the angry Sporax.

Seeing as the grimm was beginning to get irritated, I reached out and offered the rope to Rex.

"Here, hold this…"

Rex took a tight hold on the end of the rope and looked at me curiously, "Why?"

Just then, the large Sporax tugged hard on the arrow stuck between its teeth and yanked Rex suddenly off his feet.

"XEEEERRAAA!"

"Just hang on tight! All you have to do is start charging that lightning dust of yours and send it straight through that rope!" I yelled after him.

"How…" Rex was swung violently, causing him to pause, "…am I…" Again, but this time he was flung upward and got some airtime, "…even going to do that…" He plummeted downward, the rope being his only lifeline right now, "…dangling from a MONSTER?!"

"I'll think of something!" I flashed him a toothy grin and a thumbs up. I missed his response this time to leap back into the sandy pit and split my longsword in two.

The twin halves of my blade quickly shifted into my lever-action shotguns and I took aim at the creature's remaining eye. _Pop! _ I squeezed both triggers and sent dual impact slugs up and into its massive beady red eye.

My shots reaching their mark, the Sporax howled painfully in a broken and high pitched squeal. As soon as it opened its mouth though, an arrow whizzed inside its wide maw and pierced its throat. The sound immediately getting cut short as the monster screeched and gurgled.

The ground suddenly shook beneath me again, and I assumed another sand vortex was coming.

Looking back up though, I saw smoke rising out from this thing's mouth.

_Explosive arrow? Nice touch Allix. _I gave my archer an approving mock salute and kicked up off the sand, my shoes finding temporary footing on the mushroom's stalk. The impact caused it to lean back far enough for me to scale it.

"Now, time to make you hold still…" I leaped over the thing's smoking mouth and kicked off where its upper lip should have been, putting a little distance between me and my target. As I flew back, I took aim at both its now injured eyes and fired, blasting apart whatever red that was still lingering inside.

"Head's up!" I called out as the Sporax toppled backward, pulling Rex with it. As he swung past me, he extended an open hand and I grasped it to save myself from a rough fall.

"Now what?!" Rex asked after we collided with the beast's underbelly… or whatever this was.

I pointed to the rope and stood up, "Trail that rope off of his body. We don't want to be standing on this thing when you light it up."

"Alright." Rex stood up and gripped his axe in his other hand, "Off we go!"

He jumped off and I followed suit, the both of us grounding ourselves moments later and rapping the rope around Rex's axe.

"You're the one with shock dust, so it's all up to you." I said, stepping back after noticing the sparks and my friend's hair going rigid.

Dual-Elektro split down the center of the shaft, the two blades folding outward to reveal the ballista mode of his weapon. "Lights out… giant….. mushroom….. thing!"

Energy coursed out in a flash of light, causing a lightshow of smoke and dust to tear through the downed Sporax. Cracks sizzled deep into the grimm's exterior as his insides were fried, ending with the last remnants of life and movement twitching to a stop.

All that was left was a smoldering hunk of black, burnt and dead.

"W-w-well t-t-that w-w-was e-easy…" Rex shook the jitters from his voice as he ran a hand through his spiked hair, "Piece of cake!" The guy turned and flashed me a toothy grin.

"Sweet, good kill Rex." I reached out with my fist and he promptly fist bumped it, the two of us soon making it back to the others.

Allix had put her bow onto her back and was currently watching my partner. Skyla seemed to be eyeing something in front of her, but I couldn't see it. She had her legs crossed and was sitting in the sand.

"Cactus juice wore off?" I asked curiously.

To which Allix shook her head no, "She's trying to be creative."

Quirking an eyebrow, I shared a look with Rex before moving around to my partner's front.

"Woo! Sand castle!"

In front of her sat an intricately designed, well-fortified, castle of sand. "Whoa, you made this while intoxicated?!" I asked out of disbelief.

"Pfft… intoxicated. Hah, I laugh in the face of – hic!" Skyla covered her mouth with a blush, her eyes still dilated from the juice she had. "Hehe… arf." She then proceeded to scratch her ear and stick her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

"And… you're a dog now…" I sighed, crouching down to her eye-level. She gave me a stupid grin and wiggled her rump into the sand, giving me a crooked stare.

I placed my hand on her head and gave it a few pats, "How long do you think this'll last?"

Looking up past a blissfully grinning 'puppy', I found our professor standing nearby. "Shouldn't last more than a day at least." She informed me.

_Great… she'll be like this for a while… I hope it at least wears off enough for her to act on her own. _I gave her head a few more pats before standing back up, leaving my partner to her own devices.

"Where's Lanza?" Rex asked out of curiosity.

Above us, I heard a screech and saw a shadow pass us by. The blur of black sped across the sands and told me to look up… just in time to see Lanza spiraling down to the ground and landing in a crumpled heap a few dozen feet away.

"He's been flying in circles for the entire fight…" Caza deadpanned, sighing as she watched her nevermore stumble to his feet and fall over.

_At least he tried…_

* * *

**Sokka! I couldn't help it okay?! I had to! This was a desert… it was the perfect opportunity to pull an 'Avatar the Last Airbender' reference…**

**I hope it was funny… 'cause there will be more.**

_**REVIEW!**_** Just say something, maybe scream 'Fallout 4' – can't wait for Elder Scrolls VI by the way – or of course, you know, say something about the story. There's a huge climactic plot point coming up… heh, spoiler… or is it?**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, I'll see you in the next one.**

**Cya XD**

**oOo**

**Just thought I'd add something too. My good friend (****S. Wordsmith****), we know each other in real life and attend the same school, is writing his own OC story! And it's really good! We talk pretty much every day, and he's excellent with creating characters. His story is called 'Souls: The Tale of Team B1NC'. We collaborate and come up with some insane concepts between us, so please check out his fanfic if you enjoy this one or just enjoy good reads.**


	55. Infiltrators

**Still loopy…**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 55: Infiltrators

**Third Person**

"Target spotted… we can take them out, or let them pass. It's your call…" Skyla spoke in a deep voice as a dry bush tumbled across the underside of a sand dune's slope. The team and their professor found themselves laid out on their stomachs overlooking the facility.

Their trek had taken them into the night, and what they saw… wasn't comforting.

"Good call. No need to go guns hot yet…" Skyla continued in her mock military persona, her eyes watching the tumbleweed drift away into the dim distance. The hostile threat no longer an issue.

"Skyla, it was just a bush." Allix informed her hallucinating teammate.

"Oh my god… unicorns…"

"And now she's seeing unicorns." Rex sighed from beside Allix. The string that was once attached to Allix, was now attached to Rex's arm in favor of applying a heavier counterweight to Skyla's misadventures.

"She's not too far off the mark… it looks like they have some patrols moving about up top. And they have guns… which are sort of pointy, also known as rifles." Xera pointed out, watching the facility with scrutinizing eyes.

"Ozpin told me I had permission to pull you and your team out of here if I see an obstacle we can't hope to overcome." Professor Miralla said, her spot to the left of Xera. "There's no way that man accounted for a compound full of robots…"

"AK-130s actually." Xera corrected idly, watching the patterns the Atlesian Knights were taking on their rounds atop the outer stone walls.

The facility was large, sections of it only lit up by spotlights or the glow of the shattered moon. Tall, sandy stone walls surrounded the entire compound. A large guarded metal gate was the only way in, or out, and even that was sandwiched between two large guard towers.

Numerous metal based watchtowers spanned across the outer walls of the facility. And within those sat the actual full-metal compound of buildings and somewhere in the middle stood a larger central structure. It was built taller than the rest of the buildings, and had a large antenna atop its roof.

All of this was swarming with the previous version of Atlesian Knights and moving spotlights.

"What's stopping you from turning us around then?" Allix asked, eyeing our teacher.

The attractive woman breathed out a long sigh and gave us a serious look, "Nothing is. I'm pulling you all out of here, missions over."

Everyone stared back at Caza, even Lanza who sat awkwardly behind them. Allix and Rex looked at her in disbelief, Skyla had a gleam in her dilated eyes but she seemed to understand what was said… and Xera, he turned away and moved his eyes back to their opposition.

"We can't." He denied her command.

"If you go in there, you are going to die. Do you know how many guns will be trained on you the moment you get past the wall?" Caza asked, pointing out the fact that any infiltration plan would end in failure. What was worse… is that it could end in death.

It was more than likely these droids were programmed to shoot anything that moved. And considering this base was supposed to be abandoned, that didn't just mean the grimm then.

"I checked on my brother before we left." Xera's eyes didn't leave the passing guards atop the wall, "They can't do anything for him. And if nothing changes, he'll be in critical condition by the time we get back. He literally has a week to live… we don't have time to turn back now."

"D'awwwe, someone cares about their older brother." Caza suddenly pulled Xera's head into her breasts as she stroked his hair. "I knew you'd say something like that. So what's the plan cutie?"

Grumbling with a red face, Xera was released and rolled away, creating distance between him and the fondling young woman.

Which didn't turn out to be much distance at all considering Skyla was right next to him. She was in the middle for… obvious reasons. She's run off chasing a flying bunny already, they can't take too many chances being so close to a legion of gun-wielding AI.

Shaking the heat from his cheeks, Xera traded glances with his teammates and stopped his eyes on Allix and Rex. "I'll need you two to do me a favor…"

And thus the planning started.

* * *

Caza approached the gate, her hips swaying sensually as she walked on the hardened sandstone below. Behind her trailed Lanza, a bit wobbly but his body mass had just about expelled the hallucinogen from his systems.

She eyed the two robotic guards stationed at the front gate, both of which taking notice of the intruder. Their visors lit up brightly, their radiating red glow lighting up in the brisk night air of the expansive desert.

"Intruder, identify yourself."

His robotic voice was a stark contrast to the silence of the desert, but it melded well with the subtle noise of wind blowing across the dry sand dunes.

"Oh, don't be like that. I'm only here to play~" Caza replied with a roll of the tongue, getting ever closer to the two AIs.

"Failure for identification w-will result in l-lethal f-force." The other robot replied, his vocal response getting choppy for some reason as his mask somehow glowed with a brighter red.

"Awe, someone's a bit shy." Professor Miralla giggled, close enough to place her finger gently on the tip of the guard's assault rifle barrel and move it aside. "How about we have a little… _fun_?" She asked seductively, reducing the AI to a standing structure of glitching metal.

_How is this even working? _Caza asked herself as she smiled at the trembling hands of the AK-130.

She drew her heavy .44 caliber magnum and rapidly fired one of her 8 rounds straight through the visor of the first AI. Smoke trailed out of the end of her 8-inch 12 o'clock barrel as she gently lifted it up to her lips, dispersing the burnt odor with a light blow.

Her dark blue eyes drifted to the other AI as he raised his gun, and in the next moment, his arm and body were sliced in half by a heavy nevermore claw. Lanza smashed his talons through its metal with ease and watched as the robot split in two.

"A little slow there honey-bun, but at least your mind's cleared up a bit." Caza smiled her thanks and climbed onto her bird's back.

Giving her gun a little twirl, she holstered the weapon and let the old custom wood barrel gleam in the starlight as she looked up into the night sky.

Alarms, bells, and a whole lot of the clanging of metallic feet ripped through the air moments later.

"It's all up to you now, Xera." Lanza took to the air the second the gate began to open, and the bullets began flying. His nevermore feathers anatomically designed to mimic armored plating against attacks. It was more than enough to deflect the pesky bullets.

* * *

The alarms blared beyond the stone wall as team XSRA snuck around to the east side of the compound.

"It looks like Professor Miralla has them distracted." Rex commented, pulling taught his mini-ballista string and arming it with a clip of large crossbow bolts.

"I hope she'll be okay…" Allix added, drawing an arrow from over her shoulder and notching it onto her bow.

"She'll be fine, Lanza will keep her safe… I hope." Xera stated, rolling his shoulders and stretching his black, fingerless gloves on his hands. A coil of black rope was slung around his shoulder.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Allix asked.

"Of course." The phoenix responded.

"How do you know I'll be able to make the shots?" Rex asked as well, crouching down low on the sand dune before the wall.

"I'm putting my faith in my teammates. You'll do fine. If you miss, just try not to hit me…" Xera said with a few bounces on the balls of his feet. He then gestured to Skyla, and she nodded numbly before standing up; her 'leash' having already been gnawed off by someone… it was totally not Skyla.

The green and purple partners ran silently forward, Skyla drawing her blades soon after and swirling her ribbons into a spear-like rod.

Xera ran forward and took a tight hold of the end of it, and right as he met the wall, he leapt up and kicked upward on the stone. Skyla kept running as Xera used the stiff ribbons to give him horizontal pressure against the wall, letting his shoes get a grip and run up.

Skyla's ribbon rod tilted upward as Xera ran as far up as he could. On the last possible step, he put the rest of the leverage he had into an upward leap, reaching up with an open hand just as an arrow jammed itself into the mortar between the stones.

He smiled proudly as his fingers caught the shaft and used it to keep himself from falling back down, Allix's arrow embedded deep enough to supply a solid hold on the otherwise smooth wall.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he grunted quietly in exertion as he pulled and reached up with his second hand, a strong bolt striking there as well from Rex below him.

Xera climbed up using his teammate's arrows as leverage, each one perfectly piercing the brittle mortar between the stones as the teen climbed his way upward.

Their system was well oiled, and Xera put his focus into climbing as Allix and Rex eyed where he was reaching next. It wasn't until a couple feet from the top edge that someone finally missed…

Xera reached up just as an arrow struck the hard stones, missing the mortar by a fraction of an inch and bouncing off.

Nearly losing his grip, all his momentum was lost as Xera dropped from his reach and dangled from the bolt in his left hand.

As Allix reloaded shamefully, Rex leaned over and whispered, "Have you been drinking?"

Allix couldn't have looked more appalled and she shook her head with a slight blush, "O-of course not!"

To prove her point, she rapid-fired her arrow perfectly into the place she should have hit moments before.

"I saw her drinking cactus juice~…" Skyla sing-songed then trailed off, lying on her back beside her two teammates and gazing at the stars.

"Oh shut it you!" Allix complained, bonking Skyla on the forehead with the flat side of her bow-blade and pouting, "Stop lying. It was just a miss."

Rex took his next shot and lodged his bolt into place for Xera. "I don't know Allix. You're eyes are looking a little dilated." He chuckled, teasing his partner a bit.

"N-not you too!"

The archer grumbled and loosed her next arrow with a noticeable pout… "I don't drink…"

Xera reached the top soon after and grabbed the ledge, peaking over just in time to see a pair of AIs passing by. He quickly ducked back down and let them walk by, keeping quiet and his presence low to stay off their sensors.

The robotic patrol walked across the walkway and disappeared into the doorway of a tower, allowing Xera to breathe again and pull himself over the edge between two merions. Each one of the taller stone protrusions had a thick slit cut through them, allowing for Atlesian Knights to fire their rifles with nearly full coverage for themselves.

Quickly, Xera pulled the rope off his shoulder and wrapped the end securely around the nearest stone merion, then dropped the loose end over the edge for his team to climb up.

He turned and peaked through the doorway opposite the ones the previous guards left through, eyeing another pair approaching from a distance on the walkway.

Allix and Rex scaled the rope and yanked their projectiles free from the wall, respectively, and restocked them once they reached the top. Skyla on the other hand was draped over Rex's back, her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and neck.

"She's nibbling on your ear again…"

"I know!" Rex replied to Allix in a hushed exclamation; trying to pry the loopy Skyla's mouth off of his ear. He untied the rope with a disgruntled whimper and wound it around his own shoulder.

Beyond them, Xera silently told his team to follow as he dashed quietly at the two guards. Before they could make a move to attack, he dove between them and decapitated their heads with the curves of his boomerangs.

He dropped low and reversed the grip of his swords, slashing them deep into the two dead AIs' chests and tipping them over the outer edge of the wall.

"We need to get to that center building." He called back quietly as he reconnected his blades to his back and kept moving. Allix followed close behind, discarding the sleek detached robotic heads as she passed.

Their leader came across a staircase down and took it, by now the gunfire in the background was becoming increasingly louder as they all looked up to see tracer rounds lighting up the night sky. A black, barely noticeable blur, flying circles high above the compound as Caza and Lanza weaved between blazing bullet streams.

"She's a skilled flier, that's incredible…" Xera commented momentarily as they descended the metal stairs.

"I can't believe how well she's doing up there." Rex added, jogging right behind Xera and Allix with Skyla still on his back.

"She _is_ a teacher at Beacon Academy. So she has to have some amazing skills up her sleeves." Allix said.

"Every teacher there has excellent combat prowess, so I don't see why she wouldn't be at a level like this in tandem with her nevermore." Xera said as well, skipping the last few steps and landing on the sand below. "Now come on, we don't want to be spotted."

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the air.

"HOLY MOTHER OF- DIVE DIVE DIVE DIVE!" Caza screamed, forcing Lanza into a sudden dip then yanking his feathers to the right, pulling them into a spiral.

The nevermore squawked in fear as another wave of tracer rounds scraped past his wings.

"O-oh god, that was close." The professor sighed, right before her eyes went wide at another incoming assault. "These things are relentless!"

* * *

Allix looked up in admiration at their deftly talented professor. She made every maneuver seem flawless and planned out, it really showed the true potential of the teachers at Beacon Academy.

Rex tapped her on the shoulder and gestured for her to follow, the three of them – plus a dangling Skyla – moving as a silent unit between buildings and large wooden crates. Every once in a while, guards would pass and they'd need to dip into cover to wait it out.

"Sneaky sneaky super spy mission… stick to the shadows men…" Skyla giggled quietly, her bubbly voice still sounding light and uncaring.

"I can't believe she's still out of it." Allix sighed, pressing her back against the medium-sized container they were hiding behind.

"_I_ can't believe she's still nibbling on my _ear_." Rex pointed frustratingly up at his head, his finger catching the small girl's attention. She quickly reached out and gripped it softly in her hands, giggling to herself as she pulled on it.

Rex could only grumble and let his head fall forward, "…please stop…"

"You think you can stop the Skyla?" Skyla suddenly whispered huskily, "You think the darkness is your ally?" She gestured to her surroundings, almost falling off before quickly latching her arms back around Rex's neck.

"Fools, _I_ was born in the darkness… molded by it…" Her eyes squinted to serious levels as she eyed her friends, each one wondering where her intoxicated mind was going with this.

"…I didn't see the light until I was merely a woman… and by then?" Skyla reared her head back, a small growl escaping her throat as she prepared her attack, "It was _nothing_ to me but _blinding_!" She lunged forward and-

"Nmph." Clasped her soft lips around Rex's ear once again, nibbling on it.

Xera cracked up at his partner's shenanigans. She may be, well… Skyla, but she does a nice job holding this team together.

"C-come on guys, l-let's keep moving. The coast is clear." His chuckling quieted down as he watched the squads of androids finally leave an opening.

The team got up and made their way through the large backlit opening into the central building, making their way past numerous opened containers. Each one seemed to be completely empty, along with the rest of the large warehouse-like garage.

Jogging past all of this though; they made it to a door in the far back and slipped inside undetected.

With a soft seal from the door, the team took a look around and noticed the long hallway in front of them. It spanned outward, a few corridors branching off here and there with paneled lights dividing the long ceiling.

"Do you know where we should start looking?" Allix asked, her grip tightening around her bow at the eerie feeling drifting through this hallway.

"No, but we should try to find a terminal for this place. Maybe it has a map filed somewhere digitally." Xera offered, walking ahead.

The others followed behind him, Allix taking the back to keep an eye on their surroundings and what they pass.

Everything seemed so… quiet. They could barely hear what was really going on outside, the walls of this building being thick and abundant. But the further they went in, the more unsettlingly silent it got.

_Are all the guards outside? Is there any reason for them to be in here? _Allix thought, peaking into a couple rooms they moved by. One had what looked to be a lounge with a couple of unpowered vending machines.

"Does it seem… quiet, to any of you?" She voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah, it's a bit unsettling…" Rex replied.

_Exactly! _Allix chimed in her head.

"Something tells me there are other security measures in here. So they don't necessarily need the guards on the inside." Xera said, peaking inside room after room the deeper they went into the facility.

"Like what?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he could only just assume what possible technology this place could possess. "Laser sensors, sensory cameras, automated turrets, enclosing walls, spike traps, trip mines…" Now he was just listing off whatever came to mind. Really though, it was probably just the first three.

"You're joking right?" Rex asked.

"Just with the last few…" Xera chuckled, finally reaching a room that looked promising and entering.

It was another lounge; however, this one had what looked to be an elevator built into the wall. "Let's see where this takes us." He pressed the call button and the doors immediately slid open.

_Too welcoming, I don't like it- and I'm walking in anyway I see… _Xera thought, stepping inside and letting his teammate's file in after him.

"Up or down?" Allix asked, eyeing the multitude of buttons next to the now closing doors.

"Up up up up!" Skyla cheered, fist proudly pumping into the air as she stared at the roof of the elevator.

Xera reached over and pressed the highest button he could find, "Up it is then."

The elevator moved upward moments later without a problem, bringing the teens to the uppermost level and dropping them off into a dark room.

The place was fairly large, and oddly enough, contained cubicles. Much like an office in the city would have. Although, every desk had been wiped clean; each one was completely empty, including missing the holographic monitors.

They walked through the dim area, moving between each desk and making their way to the other side. Large windows with open blinds surrounded the entire work environment, the dark night sky visible through the glass.

A few glowing streams of bullets flew by, lighting up the room momentarily before fading again.

"Why would a place like this need an office building?" Allix asked.

"Research?" Xera answered, that thought already present in his own mind as well.

"Research on what though?"

Frowning, Xera ran a hand over the wall of an empty cubicle and continued onward, "Elemental Fusion." If he knew these people as well as he thinks he does, then what happened to him on that island… this place was a part of it too.

"Wait, what's that even supposed to suggest?" Allix asked.

"It's impossible for me to explain." Xera sighed. "You know how I have this fire affinity?" He asked; he might as well try to anyway.

He got a nod from everyone, including Skyla.

"Well, most people know that it's not possible to have a semblance that revolves around an element. It's always something unique, something that is special to you… something derived from your soul." Xera explained, starting with the basics. "I have a semblance yes, but the fire isn't a part of that. I wasn't even born with it."

"So… when you said research earlier… you really meant…?" Allix trailed off, looking around again with hurt eyes.

"…experiments. Research from those experiments… and so much more this corporation is a part of." Xera finished for her.

The team approached a door in silence, each to their own thoughts as Xera opened it. The glass window on the dividing wall had the blinds drawn, and inside the room was nearly pitch black.

Its location and separation from the rest of the office suggested a leader's position, or a dean of sorts.

Being the one with night-vision, Xera strolled in and walked over to the smooth topped black desk by the window. Atop it sat something odd…

_Out of everything in this entire office, this is the only thing left behind. But… why? _Xera thought, picking the small rectangular object up. It was black, about the size of his hand and had a bit of weight to it. There was some sort of signal transmitter extending from one side of it, and on the top was an opened red switch and a silver button.

Flipping it around in his hands, he found something engraved into the side. "B2." He read aloud.

A large, holographic screen suddenly flicked on behind him. The back wall lighting up in color as a soft, feminine voice spoke through the darkness. It held a bit of a robotic tone to it, meaning it was just a software of sorts.

"Subject B2 files access available; please state your Identification Login and Password." Waves of light danced on-screen to match the system's voice.

Everyone's eyes fell on the monitor as it waited for some sort of personal login.

"Uhh… identification: Zerath Stark." Xera stated unsurely, before realizing he had to give a password too. _Let's see, what would Zerath's password be? Think… it can't be something simple, no that wouldn't work. It had to be something that he created… something to tie him to something else… a reminder… _

Xera's eyes drifted back up to the screen, "Password: Leona."

His voice lingered in the dark room, the sound dying off as the screen remained unchanged. But before anyone could make a move, the wavy lines flicked off and the screen loaded up into something new.

"Welcome back Beta Subject number Two." The woman's voice sounded happy as it greeted 'Zerath'.

Releasing his held breath, Xera ran a hand through his hair as he looked to his teammates. "I got lucky…" He smiled, giving them a thumbs up.

They remained silent though, just flicking their gazes between the screen and Xera. Rex then turned and let Skyla down, sitting her on the polished desk and sitting beside her. Allix and Xera watched their actions quietly, no one really wanting to talk at all about what was going on or what was about to happen.

"Listen, Xera… you don't have to delve too far into this if you don't want to." Allix offered, eyeing the screen behind the phoenix.

They were Zerath's files, his brother… and what actually happened to him over the five years Xera's been on his own.

"Play video log one." Xera said after a deep breath, smiling his thanks to Allix's offer but deciding against it. He needed to know what happened. It could give them what they need to get Soul-Slasher out of Zerath's body.

* * *

"Video log one of the Beta. Time log 13:46. Subject has proven to be cooperative to an extent, however is still unwilling in most areas of the tests. He has a strong will… that's good. The stronger the will, the stronger he'll be when we break him." A voice echoed from off to the side in a small, dark room. The front wall had a pane of glass halfway up, looking through into a square metallic room.

Inside was plain. The floor and walls were paneled, segmented into smaller white squares with glowing blue light coming from the cracks… and in the center of the chamber… sat Zerath.

His sky blue eyes dazed, staring at the ground he kneeled on. He wore a thin pair of pants, no shirt and no shoes. His hair was black, reaching past his ears with a certain flow to his unkempt strands and dangling bangs.

There was the sound of a button being pressed, and the voice spoke out again; an intercom within the room echoing his voice to Zerath's ears.

"Subject B2, are you ready?"

Zerath didn't so much as blink as he continued to kneel there, unmoving to the man's voice behind the glass.

"Very well." The intercom flicked off as the man removed his hand from the button and returned to his original position out of view, "Commence test number one."

The glowing blue lights flashed before going dim, and some sort of generator kicked on in the background of the video's audio. After a few seconds, the pane of glass started to crackle and before long… the entire window became shrouded in frost and ice.

"Aura holding strong, only a minor strain on the subject's body." The man started vocalizing his notes, eyeing a monitor from out of frame.

Thirty seconds past and a subtle beep sounded out from nearby, "Aura has just dropped into the yellow…"

The ice began to grow thicker on the window and there was a bit of shuffling coming from the man, "Subject now in the red, aura dropping faster now." He waited a little longer, the beeping rapidly increasing as Zerath's aura continued to drop lower and lower, nearly draining completely before a button was pressed.

"Stopping the test at 2% aura levels, subject B2 lasted one minute and thirty-nine seconds." The man sighed, the wheels of a chair roaming across the metal floor as a shadow passed by the camera lens. "We'll see about bumping that up to two and a half minutes next time. If not, then he'll have to undergo treatment."

The ice faded from the glass soon after and revealed a soaked and shivering Zerath; curled up on his side. Blood streamed out of his nose, and his entire body was still thawing the ice crystals and frost that covered his form.

"Samantha, bring in the next subject."

* * *

"Video log one has ended." The robotic woman's voice informed as the video closed itself, re-opening the list of videos behind it.

Xera immediately ordered the next video to play, then the one after that, and the one following that one. It was the same thing, over and over again. But after the forth video, something changed. Zerath started acting… differently.

That log was also the first time he noticed Zerath with crimson eyes.

All the ones that followed showed a tremendous boost to their results; his aura levels taking even longer to reduce with every short video. The last video on the list was only thirty seconds, and when it played, the test was immediately concluded after fifteen seconds.

Zerath's aura levels actually increasing under the harsh conditions they were putting him through.

With the last video over, the room fell into silence again.

Xera stared blankly at the screen, reading through each video's title and short synopsis again before requesting the computer to open an entirely new folder. Within this one was a single video file with no title.

"Play…" Xera stated, the video opening moments later. He still didn't have his answers.

* * *

There was no image to the video, it was just audio. A voice, the same voice that was behind every test… every video log… it was the same man.

"You know… there was always something I admired about faunus." The voice started. The sound of shuffling and hands clasping together muffled through the background as he took a relaxed breath.

"No matter who you talk to, human or faunus, they'll tell you the same thing. You see, faunus have always been better than humans. They can react faster, think quicker, hear farther, and even see differently than a human can ever hope to experience."

"But that's not all…" The voice continued, "There's more, so much more to them no one else knows about or even tried to figure out. The world has been too busy trying to live separate from them that no one sees the big picture." The man laughed, a chair squeaking softly as he apparently leaned back.

"There are three things that make up a faunus. Instinct, animal, and adaptation. Even though the percent ratio of animal and human is variable between faunus, these always exist in every one. You see, the fascinating thing about animals is that they can evolve."

"Animal evolution has always been a biological marvel to observe. But ordinarily, it takes time. Given this variable, they can adapt to the harsh conditions of their home habitat. Camouflage for example, this was developed as a safety measure against predators. The same concept can be applied here…" The chair squeaked a little more before he continued.

"The point is… all animals can evolve more efficiently than humans can."

"This is my theory behind elemental fusion. Take a faunus and put them through the harshest of conditions. Drown one over and over again to near death, and the adaptable animal DNA plus the aura's systematic response to defend the body, and that faunus will begin to develop ways to counteract the water. The DNA will evolve to be able to breath, move, and manipulate its surroundings more easily after months of treatment. Same goes for fire. Throw a young boy into a burning room multiple times a week, and he'll learn to adapt to the heat. Not only that; but the hatred within him will grow. His will to fight back will become so overpowering that he'll learn to bend the elements to his will."

"I've worked the system off of hatred, long term conditional testing, and DNA additions to strengthen the body if things aren't working desirably. And thanks to the rare faunus DNA we've gotten our hands on, thanks to our Alpha, and a few… other beings we've obtained. Those treatments will supply a catalyst and the needed strength required for elemental fusion."

"We can't have our subjects die on us now can we?" He said with a laugh.

"Now…" The man sighed and tapped his fingers against a hard surface, "As for the speed of evolution. There are actually three factors. My experiments were all impossible, up until we got our hands on phoenix DNA. That DNA is ancient, and dates back to before the wars."

"I won't lie; we got lucky, very lucky. You'll never believe it. This kid had a second source of aura within him. This caused his semblance to unlock as an adaptable defensive system. He can take exterior forces and mimic them. Because of this DNA, we've finally made my plans possible. This, plus the speed Aura can heal the body and its programmed mechanisms to defend said body, it'll effectively try to counter the elements using the foreign DNA as a temporary ally." He spoke proudly, listing off his revelation in his research.

"A faunus's animal traits are the third variable to this concoction. Simply put, it gives the body a way to physically evolve and adapt more naturally. Something to become in sync with the elements…"

"…unlike humans, who simply evolve to overcome the elements."

"With this… my research is bearing more fruit than I ever could have hoped. A new step forward for humanity, and with enough time… these transformations of faunus could be transferred over to humans. And as such, the equality that the Fang so desperately wants and my discoveries will be there for all the world to marvel at."

The audio filled with laughter as a chair toppled over, two solid hands pressing down on a hard surface before the man continued. "Crazy… insane… they all thought it impossible, reckless. Taking away my funding and shunning me, well… I have a new backer now! Soon… everyone will see the _genius_ of Thyrsus Echols."

* * *

And just like that, the audio recording clicked off and the large holographic screen closed out of the file. The room remaining more silent than before, leaving behind a dark secret that XSRA had all now discovered.

A single thought, still echoing… bouncing around Xera's mind…

…_Echols. _His eyes drifted to the ground, that man… his name…

_Destiny… Echols…_

* * *

**You know, Prince of Persia was actually a decent movie. Most people disagree, but I thought some of the scenes were pretty cool. The 'Wall Scaling Scene' involving Xera and those arrows was a reference to one of the scenes that happened in that movie.**

**Also… Batman reference… yeah.**

**On another note, this is entirely a concept and a lot of assumptions. But you know, I thought it sounded pretty plausible for faunus. So why not build something off of their animal heritage?**

**Plus, I just love elemental powers. I had to develop **_**something**_** to make that possible in the rwby-verse.**

_**REVIEW!**_** Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, I'll see you in the next one.**

**Cya XP**


	56. Intruding for Information

**Christmas… New Year… End of the semester and finals, new semester started… stuff has happened! But here we are again! I'm so sorry about the terribly late update. I've been on the brink of insanity with the 3-6 hours of homework I've been getting each night. That's not a lie, I have to teach myself two of my classes and the rest is just… well… lots of homework.**

**You get the point… I hope.**

**Aaaaaaaaanyway… cheers to the hopes of things finally slowing down work-wise…**

**On a side note, the stunning conclusion to the epic that is RWBY Volume 3 has dramatically come to an awesome and heart-wrenching close… lots of things happened. Let's just hope a certain arrow has locked away a certain soul rather than torn it from the world we call Remnant.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 56: Intruding for Information

**Third Person**

_Thyrsus… Echols… what kind of monster is this man to experiment on and abandon his own daughters? In the tournament, she called her father a monster for what he did to her. To them. Is she like this… because of him? Whatever happened to her, this man was apparently the cause of it all... _Digging deeper, Xera manually sifted through the folders he had access to.

Each option was solely involving Zerath; nothing on anyone else, nothing on himself, nothing on Destiny or Fate.

His eyes scanned file after file, opening folders and finding body schematics, anatomy, dust implementations…

Dark entities.

There was a whole folder of dark entity related files. Their anatomy, capabilities, different species… it was as if Thyrsus was building a guide book. And for whatever reason… it was in Zerath's files.

_How did he know so much? _That file wasn't the end of it, there were more. What Zerath's ice was capable of. How extensive his affinity actually was. What exactly Soul-Slasher's energy was capable of causing.

So much more, but there wasn't any time for it. And worst of all, nothing was telling Xera anything about how to get that damned dark entity _out_ of his brother; not even anything about it getting _in_ him.

"Xera…" The phoenix felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and he turned to meet the gaze of his archer. "You'll tear yourself apart if you keep looking into these files…"

He already knew. "Doesn't matter. If this gets any worse… I'll need to know my enemy. But… I still need to know how to save Zerath. There's nothing in these files…" Strategic, simple, tactical… in the end those were what it boiled down to. Still though…

Allix dawned a gentle look of sympathy before she gave his shoulder a small squeeze and turned to the monitor. "Then you don't have to do it alone. We're a team after all… we've been stuck together since initiation. We might as well _stay_ together."

There was a soft metal thump behind him, "Never forget that man. Hell, even if you ever do we'll be there to remind you." Rex's voice spoke up, and Xera turned to see the ax-wielder give him a toothy smile. Next to him, Skyla kicked her legs idly; whatever cactus juice that was still in her system began to slowly fade away…

Or so he thought…

"We're a big happy family after all." The girl added in with a smirk, but her eyes slowly drifted to the screen and she tilted her head in curiosity.

"Why is there a big puppy on the screen?" Skyla asked innocently; then hopped to her feet.

_Puppy? _Xera turned back to the monitor and noticed the neatly organized files on view. "Puppy?" He asked, turning to watch Skyla bounce up to the large display.

She stuck her tongue out, humming in concentration as she leaned in to get a better look. "Awe… he's so cute…" She giggled before reaching forward and bumping its nose with her finger.

In her mind anyway.

Everyone else watched as she opened up a file.

"How did she…?" Allix's voice trailed off into silence.

"She just…" Now Rex cut in as well, hopping to his own feet and falling in line with the other two.

"…she did. Skyla… you're amazing." Xera commented with a subtle smile and sky blue eyes. Skyla looked back at everyone in confusion, unsure of what she actually did but she smiled thankfully anyway with a subtle blush from the praise.

_Damnit Skyla… even while you're out of your mind, you still have your amusing antics to bring us out of our thoughts._

Behind her, in front of the eyes of everyone else, glowed the schematics of the entire facility.

Floor by floor, label by label, the entire complex displayed on-screen. Above ground were the technical and industrial buildings, used for research and electronic work-force. Below that were levels 'A' through 'E'; five underground sectors total.

'A' and 'B' seemed to be mechanical storage, dust storage, and Atlesian Knight self-repair rooms. _We'll need to avoid that one. Can't determine how many are activated down there… _Past those were the remaining three levels.

'C' was labeled research and development. That must be where the technology used for the experiments was built and calibrated using the dust and mechanisms from above. Below that was level 'D'…

…where the experimentation took place.

"We'll need to check out floors 'C' and 'D'." Xera said, nodding to the two most likely floors to contain Zerath's research. He then looked at the final floor.

Level 'E'.

It had no label, and its layout only depicted a single room.

Small, square, and with nothing intricate within it; almost as if it were purposefully left blank. _I haven't seen anything of interest that Ozpin could have possibly been hinting at yet… could this be it?_

"Let's go then. Professor Miralla might be getting tired holding everything's gunfire." Allix said, heading to the door and pulling it open.

"Alright little miss… can you walk on your own?" Rex asked as he made his way over to Skyla. The younger girl hummed in contemplation before shaking her head. She then held out her arms and tilted her gaze up at the taller teen.

"Carry me!"

"So be it…" Rex hefted the girl up and placed her onto his back, giving her a piggy-back ride to the door. It appeared he had resigned himself to his fate rather easily.

"Gimme a sec guys…" Xera called out; then moved up to the monitor. He searched the left side of the large display, running his hand over the smooth edge before finding what he was looking for.

Beneath the monitor control buttons, he found a small thin scroll-port. He quickly pulled out his scroll and popped the end of it inside; much like you'd do with file transfers at the Cross Continental Transmit system. On screen, the 'New Device Detected' message popped up with options on what the computer should do with it.

He quickly selected 'Transfer' and selected the 'All' button.

It only took thirty seconds, but he received and stored every file on Zerath's drive before disconnecting his scroll and leaving the room. He briefly considered deleting all the files off of the main system… but there were bound to be backups anyways.

No need.

"We're good." He said simply, pocketing his small white object before closing the door behind him.

"Alright, so what now?" Rex asked.

"We go down." Xera replied, starting for the elevator. "We need to search floors 'C' and 'D' for any research on Zerath's operation."

"Pfft… is that it? Dat's a cake walk…" Skyla giggled, her chin placed snuggly atop Rex's shoulder.

"Well… there might be some robotic opposition down there. We'll be passing by the robotic repairs floor… who knows what that'll alert." Xera explained as they walked.

"Can't we take the stairs?"

"The stairs apparently don't go underground. The only way up or down below the ground floor is via the elevator. Which, in my opinion, is really stupid…"

"It _is_ one way to ensure security." Allix spoke up.

"Either way… it's our only way down." Xera bumped his fists together as he let out a small sigh, "So… all that stands between us and that research is the possibility of an army of androids. Let's hope most of them are deactivated for their automated reconstruction."

"And if they aren't?"

Xera pressed the call button and turned to his team, "Thing's might get a little loud then."

"LEZ DO IT!" Skyla cheered.

"Yeah! What's a bunch of damaged heaps of metal going to do against a _team_ of _highly trained_ combatants?" Rex asked rhetorically.

"_Somewhat_ trained combatants." Allix corrected.

"Whatever, we'll give them something _real_ to repair." Rex retorted.

Rex and Skyla smacked palms right as the elevator dinged. All eyes turned to the opening doors, and despite all that was said, there was still a small moment of pause.

"Let's make it through this… alright guys?" Xera said, giving his friends a few glances.

"Relax, we can handle ourselves." The ax-man responded, prompting a couple confident nods from the females of the group.

A small smile, edged on by confidence and trust, appeared on Xera's features before he moved into the elevator. He took a breath, then turned around and gave his team a determined smile, "Alright then… let's go raise _hell_."

"Woo! We'll take 'em down!" Skyla called out with a fist-pump.

Rex carried the girl inside the elevator compartment, and following behind him was their red archer of the group.

"I've got enough arrows to cover you all for fifteen minutes. But that time can triple if you all watch your backs." She commented, eyeing her quiver over her shoulder.

"No problem, it's likely we'll have a few minutes of reprieve once we pass by that floor. But that won't last."

"Think they've got any Spider Droids?" Allix asked, slipping her bow off her shoulder.

As the door closed, Xera drew his blades and let their tips dip and hover just above the elevator floor, "Definitely." And then the doors sealed shut.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the elevator descended.

One floor, two floors, five floors, eight floors, it was dinging by at an irritating pace with the ever consistent repetitive pang. The ground floor was approaching, and the anticipation of going beyond that was lingering tensely in the air.

A few more seconds later, the numbered lights illuminated the ground floor button…

…and then passed it.

Floor 'A'…

…passed.

Just a little further.

Floor 'B' was approaching quickly now…

"We're slowing down…" Xera spoke, his words registered just as the elevator shaft screeched and the compartment grinded to a halt.

Floor 'B'… was not passed.

The doors suddenly stilled… then slid open.

_Here we go…_ _what stopped us? _Xera's grips tightened as his gaze fell upon the reasoning behind their stalled decent.

Two Atlesian Knight-130s stood idly in front of the doors, their visors were looking at each other as one made a move to step inside the elevator… however as soon as he looked inside… he stopped. The one next to him took his robotic hand off the elevator call button and immediately turned to us as well.

You could almost see the question mark appear above his head as his visor glowed a brighter red.

Behind the duo AIs sparked and shifted countless mechanical repair arms… lines of still active androids were aligned neatly in numerous rows all throughout the room. All of which… simultaneously turned their visors to the now open elevator door.

Very carefully, cautiously, Skyla raised two fingers and dragged them through the air, "These are not the hunters you are looking for…"

The android with his foot in the elevator turned his visor to brighten Skyla's lopsided day, gazing at her with his bright red dark-gray enclosed intimidating visage. For a moment, even if it was only a second, it almost seemed like the robot was still computing Skyla's words…

And then Rex stepped forward and sparta kicked the humanoid metal self-controlled AI evil-doer out of the heavy elevator compartment. Skyla nearly fell off his back with the force he shoved into his tense leg.

"AND STAY OUT!" He cried out, just as the elevator doors began to close again.

The second AK-130 took an arrow to the shoulder and spun out of site, but the team easily heard it move up against the wall and flex its arm…

A moment later, the robot jammed its elbow into an encasement upon the wall and jabbed a red button behind the glass.

"**Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert. Facility Krono has been compromised, sending squadrons 1 through 9 to the alerted levels."**

"Anyone else think that computer chick sounded like Cortana?" Rex asked, looking up at the ceiling of the elevator as it descended again.

"Yup." Xera responded.

"Can you boys think of something other than video games right now?" Allix asked, her hand nearly reacquainting itself with her forehead. She was tempted to face-palm, but she needed to stay alert.

Skyla popped her head up from where it was resting against Rex's back and turned to Xera, "Chief… we have incoming…"

"Hah! Three to one, we win! Let's go find some covenant scum." Xera smiled, reaching up and patting Skyla's head.

"A little late on the draw there, Skyla… but whatever." Allix sighed.

The elevator soon came to a crawl and almost everyone stepped off the elevator.

"Hey, you guys go and try and find that research. I have something I need to check out." Xera said, pressing the level 'E' button on the elevator control panel. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Allix turned around just as the elevator doors were closing, stopping them with the blade of her bow. "You sure?"

It took a moment, but Xera shook his head, "No, I want to get my hands on that research as soon as possible…"

"…but?"

"…but there's something I need to look into. I won't be long… I hope." He said offhandedly, turning his gaze away.

Allix stared at her leader, keeping her blade in place for a few more moments before she released a light breath. "Alright, we'll find that research. Do whatever it is you need to… just… do it _carefully_."

The phoenix turned back and spared her a small smile, "You know me. I'll be good."

"Good." Releasing her interference on the elevator doors, Allix and Xera shared one more nod before he disappeared from sight.

"How soon do you think those Atlesian Knights will be on us?" Rex asked as his partner turned around.

"Can't say for sure, but we'd be lucky if it's as long as three minutes." Allix replied, looking down the wide corridor they found themselves in.

Rex hefted Skyla's weight up a bit, getting her into a more comfortable position before running forward. "Then we should get moving."

Allix followed suit, keeping her eyes and ears turned to any sounds emanating from the elevator. "They'll climb down the shaft. So that's their only entry way."

"Can we block it?"

"No. Atlesian Knights are programmed with breach procedures on concrete walls five feet thick. We don't have anything that could hold them back."

Skyla interlaced her fingers and planted them on top of Rex's spiky hair, then rested her chin thoughtfully on them. "We should build a giant magnet…"

"That would take too long. We'd have to pry apart all the computers we could find." Allix responded to the younger girl. "It was a nice idea though… for someone who's still high on cactus juice."

As they ran, they began to approach sets of doors on both sides of the hallway. Each one was paired with large thick windows and blinds… through them were mostly cleaned out offices. The computers and monitors were missing, however there were papers and a few files strewn across the desks and floors.

The rest of the hallway was entirely white, save for the black tiles on the floor and bright blue lights above.

"Those rooms don't look too important. Let's see if we can find our way to the actual testing labs." Allix said as she ran past Rex.

The two of them, plus Skyla, made their way deeper into the facility. But it wasn't long before they heard loud clanging echoing off the pale walls of the corridors.

"That would be the sound of them scaling the elevator shaft." Allix spoke up as they turned the next corner. Her pace slowed down to a jog though once she noticed what was at the end of the shorter corridor.

"That… that's the gateway to Hades… let's not go in there…" Skyla chirped up in a meek voice, her head dipping slightly in fear as she peaked over Rex's spiky hair. Beyond his silver locks was an open metal door. There was a thick, iron bar that lay propped up against the wall and steel chains lay scattered across the floor. Through the opened doorway was total darkness, enough so to make it appear completely pitch black after a few feet of light going inward.

"What are the chances that this was the place they… uh… experimented on Xera's brother?" Rex asked, his pace the only one that hasn't faltered.

"Considering the added chains and bar to keep the door closed… I would say yes… yes it is." Allix responded, picking up her own jog again and running up to Rex's side.

Their footsteps seemed to echo hollowly from inside the dark room they approached. Every step they took resulted in a resounding emptiness from inside.

It was… unsettling… and left no desire to quicken their entry.

However, the AK-130s had other plans.

Once the teens reached the edge of the dark abyss, the sound of warping and sliding metal pierced through the veil of silence. They had pried their floor's elevator doors open.

* * *

Xera watched as the floors ticked by, anxiously staying silent despite the steady strain of the elevator's cables. _They're in the elevator shaft. _His gaze turned upward at the sound of magnets slamming heavily against the metal walls above.

_Those bots stand no chance… _The elevator descended a little lower, but before it reached the bottom of the shaft a deafening whine rushed down the resounding walls.

Xera quickly looked back up and slammed his blades together, interlacing their panels and forming his Annivia's Talons into Excalibur Mode; cleverly named by Ruby Rose.

He lifted the tip of his now singular sword and jammed it upward, piercing the metal of the elevator roof and prying it open ever so slightly. After removing his blade, he could make out what was causing that noise.

"Great… this makes things interesting…" Through the torn hole in the roof, Xera watched as two of the Atlesian Knights clung to the wire allowing the elevator to descend. The two AIs were working on opposite sides of the thick cable with blazing dust-fueled blowtorches…

_Cutting the wire. I guess they don't take many risks. _Letting out a taut breath, Xera reversed his grip and spun his longsword around… then dug it into the floor just as the elevator's supporting cable snapped.

Slowly, Xera watched as his bangs slowly lifted… revealing his dark green eyes before his adrenaline let gravity catch up to his perception. With a tight grip, the elevator plummeted downward at an increasing pace for a full floor before the emergency breaks slammed into a full grind against the walls.

Using his sword as leverage, Xera kept his balance and forced himself to remain standing to reduce the force of the less than gradual stop.

The sheer g-force sunk the tip of his sword deeper into its metal confines, piercing it a few more inches as the world pulled forcefully downward until the elevator came to a screeching halt… only then did it relent.

With one hand gripped tightly around the handle, and the other resting gently on the base of his hilt, Xera looked up from his low gaze and looked to the door.

He didn't know if level 'E' was right there… or slightly offset… but right now he didn't have the time to take things slow. So, he stepped forward and made to pull his sword out of the ground… only for it to unexpectedly remain still.

"Where's King Arthur when I need him…" Xera sighed, letting go of his handle and stepping over to the elevator doors. He examined them for a second before mentally marking his target and turning back to his embedded blade; glinting with a pristine black at the center of the compartment.

With a tilt of the head, Xera took a small step forward and kicked upward against the downward facing crescent hilt of his blade.

A resounding and reverberating clang graced his ears as the whirring of steel twirling through the air followed suit. His weapon's handle soon glowed faintly as he pushed aura into his right bracelet, turning as he did so and extending his hand outward with an open palm.

The released and spinning blade homed in on his side, pulled toward his aura-lock bracelet and landed solidly into his waiting grip. And with his mark already set, Xera didn't waste another moment… pulled forward with his weapon and jamming it between the sealed heavy elevator doors.

With a subtle twist, Xera forced the doors open a crack before getting a grip on the edges and pushing them the rest of the way open.

Behind them… revealed a dark, ominous room.

The cold steel walls were gently illuminated by a shimmering blue hue, countless thick black cables and fiber-optic wires ran across the floor in clusters and climbed the walls at either side… each cluster dangling and cascading loosely as they reached for what lay dormant in the center of the room.

Electrical wires ran, organized and neatly, across the ground alongside these thick cords. These connecting intricately to what looked to be a set of control panels and monitors, the machines set up to observe the subject at hand.

A gentle, dull, and nearly faint beep quietly hummed from inside.

Xera reconnected his sword to his back as he walked into the dimly glowing room. His footsteps were silent as his gaze roamed, taking in his surroundings before focusing on what lay ahead.

The blue light around him looked distorted, as if water shielded its glow and let the light flow like liquid upon the edges of the room. Dark shadows took residence in every corner and behind every wire, giving the room a depth to it that every abyss possessed.

Yet, it didn't matter. This light… the cause of this faint blue hue… was illuminated in the middle of this particular room.

Sector 'E'… _So this is what Ozpin took an interest in… he must have noticed the energy drain this setup had on the facility. A number so continuous, so steady, despite the abandonment of the entire compound… it remained. _Xera's eyes shined, reflecting the fleeting azure that whisked his face as he came to a quiet stop… looking upward at something he didn't expect to find…

A girl.

A young girl, a faunus so disconnected from reality that she seemed almost timeless. Her relaxed expression was gentle… but somehow emotionless as she floated unmoving. Through the glass, the water, the encasement she floated in… was a girl that time seemed to have forgotten.

Her frost white hair cascaded ethereally down and behind her, spreading its strands ever so slightly in a fan of beauty. Two white fox ears sat relaxed atop her head, no elation or sadness present at all in them. Her eyes were closed as if she were in a deep slumber.

Clad in a skin-tight black suit, only her feet, hands, and face were exposed to the clutches of the cool water that surrounded her.

_This hydro-cryo chamber is keeping her asleep… but is it also keeping her alive?_ He couldn't tell how long she's been in there. Her pale skin showed no signs of tautness and only released a further sense of innocent beauty.

The girl only looked to be about 17…

However, there were two things that Xera focused his thoughts on. The oxygen mask, black and technologically enhanced, that was attached to her nose and mouth… and the three, snow white fox tails that fanned out from behind the encased faunus.

"She's a type of yōkai… a fox-yōkai… how did they get the DNA of a spiritual entity?" Xera was beginning to understand. A phoenix, a dark entity, and now a kumiho… these signs didn't bode well.

His eyes soon drifted to the control panel. Its screens were off and the controls sat devoid of light, but that won't be for long.

Xera walked over and booted up the system, powering the array up and sending the machines through their startup process. In no time at all, Xera bypassed the cybersecurity credentials and noticed the distinct lack of too many files on this computer.

There were only two.

One was the time-log for subject B9… which must have been this girl's ID… and another file containing her personal information.

Xera immediately connected his scroll to the small port and downloaded the files, saving time for later as he simultaneously opened the time-log.

"Subject Beta 9, entry 16; fifteen days from the merging of phoenix and kumiho DNA. No signs of waking. The treatment must have put a strain on its body and mind that we did not account for. The subject's element was successfully transferred into its aura but its other systems were put into stasis. Beta 9, if uselessness persists, will be scheduled for termination by tomorrow."

That log was from two days ago.

Xera moved onto the one from yesterday.

"Subject Beta 9, entry 17; it still remains in stasis. No stimulation has any positive effects on the subject. The facility is transferring to the main compound, phase two has been initiated. With the failure of this faunus, we have no reason to take her capsule. The oxygen supply will last her another 24 hours, she'll be dead after 25."

There was one more entry.

"Subject Beta 9, entry 18; grimm numbers in the area have multiplied, the facility is rushing to pack up everything it can. Due to leaving some heavy equipment and bits of research behind, AK-130s have been scheduled for drop off to protect the remnants of our work. Subject B9 will stay behind. It will be categorized as our sixth failure of the beta program after phoenix integration. If only we still had our alpha."

_Subject Beta 9 huh? They've only had three successful elemental fusions… Zerath… and two more. _Xera closed out of the time-log and disconnected his scroll, his file transfer already finished.

Checking the oxygen levels, he noted the girl had less than an hour left of her supply. He then looked to the control panel, then to the bottom-lit glass cylinder in the center of the room.

"I was the end of the alpha program… and the start of the beta initiative. It was my fault… it's because of me that this is happening… and that she's in there…" His eyes transitioning to a dark blue as he looked up to meet her pale face. "I'm sorry…"

An apology that fell on deaf ears was stated, but with it Xera promised himself he'd get that girl out of here.

"How do I drain the water?" He asked himself, turning his gaze back to the panel.

* * *

A pitch black veil surrounded the other three members of team XSRA. Rex had pulled out his scroll to light up the room as he searched, hoping to find some form of a light switch.

They had closed and barricaded the door with the bar and chains from outside… it should buy them some time.

As Rex searched, Allix activated her own scroll-light and maneuvered her way to the center of the room. There were two worn tables, or rather… patient tables to restrain two subjects. Their straps were crudely blackened and stained with some amount of blood.

Off to the side was a third table, this one smaller and with scattered papers across its metal surface and beneath it. The white sheets were everywhere in the room, matting the floor scarcely but clumping up more commonly where this table was.

Allix walked over to the table, stepping around it and looking at all the papers. They were all just notes and calculations… for what though? She stepped carefully further around the edge, examining paper after paper until her boot landed on something that wasn't the floor.

Quickly, she peered down and slid a clump of papers to the side… revealing the corner of a black leather-bound journal hidden beneath them.

"What the…" She bent down and pulled the book out from beneath all the papers. "This can't be it…"

She opened to the first page, reading off the top of it out loud.

"Subject Beta 2, entry 1; subject is restrained. The mass of black and crimson lays strapped and under dust sedatives to his left… we are ready…" Allix covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a tight breath, her eyes growing wider as she read quickly through the first few time-logs.

Almost immediately, her distaste for the man known as Zerath Stark prior has vanished completely. The emotions rapidly replaced with pity… and empathy…

The integration of Soul-Slasher into Zerath took an entire month… there's no words to describe the pain that he must have endured, the abandonment that he undoubtedly felt… the helplessness that blanketed a useless struggle…

She closed the book.

Slowly letting the pages re-seal against each other as the lights in the experimentation room suddenly flicked on.

It was now that she noticed the blood, the black scorch marks, the deep gashes in the walls and the floor… all illuminated now by the dangling light in the center of the ceiling.

"Found it! But… we're out of time. They're coming." Rex spoke out, hoisting Skyla a little more comfortably onto his back as he made his way back over to the door and listened.

Heavy footfalls resounded through the metal molecules of its structure. "…and they're nearly here." He turned his dark blue gaze back to his partner and paused.

"…Allix? You okay?"

The archer stood still, her hand loosely holding onto the book that dangled by her side. Her own dark silver eyes were downcast at her feet… staring blankly in front of her.

"Allix?" Rex repeated, beginning to make his way over to the blank faced girl. His walk was soon halted though as Allix turned to meet his eyes.

It was then that the metallic footfalls, the mechanical horde of Atlesian Knights, had reached the doors to the room that three of the four resided in.

And the heavy clang, the almighty warping of steel and the forceful bending of metal… shook the room and drifted the dispersed papers that covered it.

* * *

**Oooo, information… some promised action…**

**Allix, Skyla, and Rex are about to encounter a mass of AI opposition… Xera has the dilemma of saving a girl, forgotten by time, and seemingly unrevivable. Not just this, but he has no real way out of Sector 'E' now that the elevator's cables have been cut.**

**Should be an interesting next chapter I hope.**

**Oh, and look at that… a fox-yōkai…**

**I love kitsunes and kumiho (fox-yōkai) and fox-faunus in general, so yeah. I'm hoping Xera saves her because I want her fluffiness to live!**

_**REVIEW!**_** Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking. And again, I'm really sorry about the delay. It happens with school… you know how it can get.**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story, it's definitely not dead and will continue to live for as long as I see fit. It won't be ending any time soon.**

**And trust me, you'll want to be around for what I have planned to take place very soon. That's right, I planned something. In association with '****andy2396****', we've already planned it out together, an incredibly epic and intense arc will soon occur… and it'll be glorious.**

**Cya XP**

**Oh! And one more thing! Thank '****The Baz****' for this chapter being published, finally. He's been sending me a few messages after noticing my long absence, all of which were pretty entertaining. So yeah, if it weren't for his message today I wouldn't have sat myself down and finished the chapter I started so long ago.**

**I recommend his stories if you haven't already heard of him. One of which is called 'The White Mask'. This takes place in the bad guy's point of view with an idealistic OP chaotic dumbass lucky genius dingo known as Fidelis. It's hilarious.**

**Yeah! Thank you, Baz. You're awesome. Demonic, Andy, and Afro are awesome too.**

**Now, all I need to do is settle back into my stories again. Hopefully, my workload as of late will lessen enough to keep these chapters coming.**


	57. Shattered the Flames Scatter

**Sky: I WAS APPROACHED BY MY PRINCIPLE WHO ASKED ME FOR THIS STORY… SO HE CAN READ IT! I PANICKED. AND I SAID, "I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU LATER!" *LATER* STILL HAVEN'T GIVEN IT… please send help.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 57: Shattered the Flames Scatter

**Third Person**

What was once the thick, reinforced and chained, metal door… was now a warped and dented piece of debris flying through the air. Shattered hinges shimmered and rang through the thick veil of tension at the moment of entry. Their metallic whines pitched out in such reverberation that they seemed to fall to the ground in slow motion.

Rex turned and slammed his forearm into the incoming clump of metal, bashing it aside as his stance was forced to skid backward a few inches. Skyla had to duck from atop his back to avoid getting hit as well.

Beyond the rapid trajectory of the airborne door were two Atlesian Knights, their frames leaned forward with both sets of fists stretched out in front of them. The lingering traces of thruster flames roared from their elbows as they stood up straight again.

They were equipped with the literal representation of rocket punches.

Almost immediately after their breached entry, the first of the many AIs began to filter in as the ones that forced the door open got clear.

The infiltrating bots had their guns already raised, and as more stepped inside they began to disperse and create a rough partial circle of armed robots.

"Intruders, identify yourselves and surrender peacefully." The red visor of the central robot lit up in tune with the voice coming out of his internal speakers.

_Well, at least they weren't reprogrammed to shoot to kill._ Rex thought as he cast a glance to his side, watching as Allix remained completely still. She hadn't even moved when the robots breached the room.

"Allix, you need to snap out of it… now." He spoke directly, his muscles tensing as he strained them in preparation.

"I can get to her…" Skyla supplied, her eyes and mind clear enough to formulate her own plans.

"Okay, I trust you. Just make sure her mind is in the right place afterward…" Rex replied quietly, his eyes narrowing as they turned back to the invading AK-130s.

The robot who had originally spoken stepped forward and repointed his assault rifle at Rex, "Stand down and identify yourselves."

"…_you_ stand down and identify yourself." Rex retorted before shrugging his shoulder, a signal for Skyla to make her move. He quickly hefted his ax around his side and brought it back around his other in a pre-swing… letting Skyla twirl around and plant her shoes onto the flat side of his blade.

As he forcefully reared his ax back, Skyla used the momentum to launch herself over to Allix just as Rex reversed his pull and smashed his weapon forward.

With a hearty cleave, Rex obliterated the AI in front of him as the machine made a move to step back out of reflex. The sheer power behind the strike was enough to cleanly sever the robot's body in half… and before any of the bots could do anything else…

Rex reared his fist back and slammed it into the gleaming red visor of his adversary, sending out a sickening crunch that deafened the room in a powerful shockwave. The cone of force was enough to completely shatter the bot's helmet and proceed to fragment the rest of its upper torso… sending a cloud of destructive shards of metal at the line of Atlesian Knights behind it.

A couple visors shattered as other AIs lifted their arms to shield their visual units from damage.

The rest… opened fire.

It was as if all the tension had snapped… and an explosion of reality had settled over the scene in the span of a fraction of a second.

The sound of a heavy table colliding with the floor thundered out in the same moment, Skyla having tipped over the metal object onto its side near Allix. The young girl had just enough time to pull her archer behind cover, the bullets blanketing the tabletop-shield in numerous dents a moment later as the drifting papers finally settled back down to the ground.

"Cover's down! Don't die on us, Rex!" Skyla called out, peering out from behind her makeshift shield.

"Yeah, yeah… I wasn't planning on dying today!" Rex grunted out as he brought his ax back around, using the large surface area of his weapon as a makeshift bullet sponge as he shifted his way to the table. A couple bullets clipped his shoulders and others drilled into the aura blanketing his arms, but he just bit back the pain and eventually dipped behind the table.

A hail of bullets soon battered the exposed side of the table as the teammates took a moment to regroup.

Or rather… see if Allix was okay.

"Hey, what's wrong? You're completely distracted." Rex asked, keeping himself low and at his partner's side. Her deep silver eyes were still downcast, but she at least seemed to know what was going on. The book she held in her hands was pressed securely against her chest… yet her grip was loose on its spine.

It was as if she was struggling between protecting the journal… or letting it go.

"I'm… I'm good just… just give me a moment…" She finally spoke up.

"We don't have a moment!" Skyla yelled, grabbing her friend by the shoulders and shaking her. "Snap out of it, woman!"

The frantic shaking seemed to actually work. Skyla's action brought Allix out of her deeper thoughts and caused her to grip the journal in her hand a little more tightly. Her gaze then dashed back up to Skyla's own eyes… then to Rex's… before she picked up her bow that lay clattered on the ground and wrapped her fingers around its handle.

"Okay… let's just get out of here." She gave a small nod to the two in front of her before taking a short peak over the edge of the table, "…I'm ready."

"Good, how do you feel about Piercing Salvo?" Rex asked, sliding up to the legs of the table and leaning to peak around it; only to rapidly pull his head back to avoid a flurry of bullets.

"Now?"

Rex shrugged and gave the girl a confident smile, "Yeah, if we do it right we'll be able to make an opening."

Allix let her own small smile form as she drew a handful of arrows and notched one of them, keeping the rest clutched in her draw-hand.

"Alright… let's try it. Piercing Salvo it is…"

Rex's smile grew into a toothy grin as he brought up his own ax, getting ready to leap into the approaching wall of invisible bullets.

"You two need help?" Skyla asked, getting ready herself with her twin swords.

"For now… let's hope we don't. All you need to do is get clear when-" His statement was muffled by another barrage of bullets. This one remaining continuous as the first line of bots began to march forward. "…when I yell go. Got it?"

He received dual nods from both girls… just in time, too.

The first AI was just a few feet away from the table now, its robotic and slimly armored hand already reaching out to pull away their cover.

Rex held up three fingers, digging his boots into the ground as he took a more solid grip on his ax. His three fingers then transitioned into two, and then sequentially to one… before he silently pulled all his fingers into a fist.

"…_GO!_"

Skyla dove backward with journal in hand, away from the table as Allix leapt over Rex's body. His ax was immediately in motion, Rex yanking it back and around in a full circle to baseball-slam the underside of the table with his heavy weapon.

An electric shock and hot sparks flashed from the impact as the table flipped forward at an alarming speed, colliding with the first three bots and crushing four more into the metal wall of the room. The collision was followed up with Allix simultaneously and rapidly letting loose three arrows as she flipped over Rex's crouched form.

The quick shots pierced the cracked and shattered visors of three armed robots about to fire on their exposed forms, killing their systems immediately. Then as Allix's boots made contact with the floor, the mechanical shift of panels and sliding mechanisms was heard just before the quick increase of a pitched hum filled the room…

…followed by a glowing blue crossbow bolt jamming itself into the chest of a forth robot.

"You get one o'clock through three." Allix stated out calmly as she aimed left and crossed lines with Rex's own shots, notching and unleashing arrow after crimson arrow to dispatch the remaining AIs that were raising their assault rifles in retaliation.

Her shots were synced to Rex's own bolts, each of the marksmen prioritizing their targets and seemingly downing each bot in the order of reaction… destroying each one right before they could get a shot off.

18 down… 22 down… 27 lay dead and unmoving…

If steam could come out of either of their weapons… it would be silently rising from the tips in a reveal of epic revelation and dramatic dual poses.

"That… was… AWESOME!" Skyla squealed, hopping on her boots and clutching the black book in her small hand. "You guys are sooooo cool!"

Rex smirked and stood up from his low crouch, blowing on the tip of his newly loaded electric bolt before resting his Dual-Elektro against his shoulder, "Damn straight we're cool."

Allix rolled her eyes and lowered her bow, giving Rex and Skyla a sideways grin, "I would say so I guess. I took out thirteen total."

"You guess? I just obliterated fourteen bots within a few seconds… that has to be a record or something." Rex chuckled, proudly thrusting his thumb over his shoulder at the heaps of fading robotics.

Allix's neutral expression suddenly turned agitated as she pointed her gaze to the ax-man, "Fourteen you say?"

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Rex in subtle anger.

"Aye, that be right." Rex asked with a quirk of the brow. He silently shifted his stance, hiding his smile as he let out a small huff, "Thirteen's not bad… a healthy number but… _fourteen_ is still more-"

Allix quickly notched another arrow from her quiver and blindingly loosed it at a bot twitching on the floor. The swift _thwong_ of the arrow pierced the stillness of the room and interrupted Rex's proclamation.

"…fourteen." Allix said with a smile.

"It was already dead!" Rex exclaimed.

"Dead?" Allix inquired, shrugging her shoulders exaggeratedly, "It moved."

"That's because it has my _bolt_ embedded in its _nerve circuits_!" The man exclaimed loudly as he walked over and yanked his bolt around, causing the robot to twitch again.

Allix just shrugged once more and looked away.

Their little interaction was enjoyed by a quietly giggling Skyla, her light purple eyes twinkling from above the top edge of the journal; since she was using it to hide her smile. "You guys are funny."

She received a sideways and amused smile from Allix, as well as a happy thumbs up from the taller teen.

"…I have fourteen now. We're tied."

"It… was… _dead_!"

"I refuse to believe that."

The shrill yank of a bolt out of a metallic exoskeleton rang out as Rex stood up, his breath leaving him in an exasperated and disbelieving sigh…

Suddenly, another arrow was loosed and Rex froze up… watching intently as the projectile glided toward his face. The tip nearly glancing his ear as it surged past him in a warped flurry of whistling air… right before plunging tip first into a twenty-eighth bot lurking in the hallway.

"Fourteen." Allix said calmly and resolvedly.

Rex, wide-eyed, turned around slowly to watch an Atlesian Knight fall to its knees and collapse to the ground.

…

"Fair enough…"

* * *

"**Squadrons 1 through 3 have been eliminated. You are doing well to thwart me humans… do not expect to survive the next incursion. Dispatching squadrons 4, 5, and 6 to your position. You have the obligation to die now."**

What sounded like Cortana's calm and subtly aggressive voice echoed through the facility-wide intercom system, the proclamation reaching the lowest level as well.

Xera looked up from his button searching and cracked a small smile, "Nice job guys. Three squadrons already down." His gaze then turned back to the mass of controls organized and flashing atop the panels he stood in front of.

Their labels were worn, and most were impossible to read anyway. They were color-coded… but the manual was nowhere in this room. It must have been taken along with most of the research.

"I could always guess and get lucky…" He thought out loud, but the idea was quickly dismissed once he glanced back to the girl floating helpless within a cylinder of water.

"No… I don't want to take any risks unless it's the last possible choice."

On the control panel, the phoenix had already ruled out more than half the buttons. It was down to the final ten switches that he assumed were the controls to drain the water safely. He didn't know what breaking the glass would do… but it was likely to cause more problems for him rather than a solid solution.

_An encrypted panel of countless buttons shouldn't take this long to figure out… _Xera sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.

* * *

"So? How 'bout it? Can you walk on your own now?" Rex asked, approaching Skyla once again. The girl simply shook her head and twirled the journal in her hands.

"Nope. I can walk silly, I've got two feet don't I?"

Allix laughed a little and stood up; she'd been recollecting her arrows since the first incursion was slain, "Well… she's not wrong."

"True, at least I don't have to carry her anymore." Rex responded, stretching his arms up and about as he strained his back. It was all for show though. "Anyway, we should find Xera and get out of here. We have what we came here for."

"We do. But what are the chances they severed the elevator cables?" Allix asked, turning to her friends.

"Pretty high, unfortunately." Rex returned.

"How's he going to get back up then? Is the shaft wide enough for him to fly out of there?"

"Not sure, I've never seen his wings."

Skyla suddenly perked up and threw a finger into the conversation, "I've poked them! They're soft… hehe."

Silver and blue eyes fell upon Skyla's giddy face before everyone chuckled a bit, "Good observation, Skyla."

"Thanks!"

Allix gave her friend a thumbs up before hearing the deafening screech of metal warping and whining, "Oh… that can't be good."

"Uh, when has that sound ever been good?" Rex asked the archer.

"Not often." With a final pull of her last embedded arrow, Allix stepped back to fall in line with her teammates. Rex had already pulled his own bolts free, so they had most of their ammo back; save for the few objects that broke.

"Well, that's either a lot of bots… or something very big." Rex loaded in a fresh clip of bolts as he made his verbal assumption.

Skyla soon stepped forward, tilting her head to listen a little more closely, "Or maybe both." She concluded for everyone. It was hard to tell if the cactus juice had finally left her systems, but right now they didn't want to worry about that question.

If she could fight… then let her fight.

Another highly strained bending of metal sounded out, pulling forcefully down the shaking walls as it addled the atmosphere in a thick sense of tension and pre-battle anxiety.

"…Spider Droid." Allix said, drawing out a couple arrows and notching one of them, "It'll be fighting alongside two waves of Atlesian Knights most likely."

"That's assuming the giant mechanical spider is a squadron of its own." Rex added with a thoughtful shrug.

"Well, in any case, we need to be careful… really careful. These hallways are narrow, there's no avoiding its laser if it comes to that." Allix said, her analytical eyes measuring the exact width of the hallway. It was just enough to fit the Spider Droid, but restricted the full movement of its opposition.

"…I can take out the first few lines of bots." Skyla spoke up, her hand resting on the top edge of the black book nestled within a bound ribbon. The article was pulled and tied taut around her waist, yet the knot seemed as elegant as the ribbon would depict rather than displaying any sense of crudeness.

"How?"

The young girl didn't care for who made the inquiry. She was busy preparing for her plan of action. Soon, after another loud groan of metal, she began walking forward. Outside the doorway, down the hallway and around the corner, they could finally make out the audible slams of metallic pistons ramming rhythmically into the floor. Basking those heavy thuds was an armada of robotic footfalls.

Undeterred, Skyla's slowly advancing form continued. She then drew her blades, twin swords that gleamed in the flickering light of the experimentation room. Their sharpened tips tilted downward and fell to her sides, her grips tightening then loosening on their handles as her ribbons began unraveling themselves; one light purple and one white.

In a flurry of slow, elegant, and dashingly precise twirls and twists, Skyla's ribbons danced through the room. They branched out and filtered around her in entrancing swirls, their tips seemingly moving toward entanglement but never overlapping.

Her ribbons reached out, their thin surfaces illuminated by her shining aura as they effortlessly pushed the floored robots toward the edges of the room.

Their grinding against the floor was dwarfed by the quickly approaching noise of the onslaught to come.

"Be ready, the opening won't last." Skyla said, tilting her head up and back, glancing over her shoulder to the other two. "Clear them out as fast as you can, kay?"

"Sure… but I still don't see what you're about to-"

"Nonsense. Just watch…" Skyla's wicked grin emerged as her shimmering ribbons glowed just a little brighter.

The first of the crimson lights emerged around the corner. The red depths of their numerous visages were organized in a mass of approaching robotic humanoid bodies. Their mechanical cores shined a red hue, bursting through the openings of their armor in intimidating glows.

Their leading line of three, moving forward in a heavy jog, raised their assault rifles and fired upon acquisition.

Almost immediately, their bullets were met by the vicious whipping of ribbons. Purple and white streaks gleamed through the air, batting and lashing all projectiles on their paths of malice.

A fragmented glisten of a destroyed bullet dipped past Skyla's ear, the girl merely giving her head the smallest of leans as it passed by her swaying strands of hair. Her silent disposition was almost as frightening as her swirling ribbons.

She was calm.

She was waiting.

They were moving in… and now, they were close enough.

As the bullets slowed to a stop, their shooters realizing the fruitlessness in their efforts, Skyla began to lean forward. And before even the light could flicker once more over the veil of battle, she was off. Dashing silently and swiftly, she reached and broke their lines in mere moments.

Skyla shielded herself with a fluctuating wall of ribbons as she ruthlessly tore through the first two AIs. Her twin blades lashed out with extreme prejudice as she dragged their steel through moving structures of metal and wiring.

It didn't stop there. She crouched into a spin and severed the waists of two more, leaving their halved bodies to fall to the floor as she lunged and delivered a dangerous slash straight up through the center of another robot.

The Atlesian Knights behind her wall made an attempt to push through to aid in their allies' destructions, but her shifting ribbons were too random. Whatever move they made was pushed back by a quick thrust of an aura-clad ribbon. If that wasn't the case, then they were entangled and severed in their place.

So they resulted to lifting their weapons and firing into the veil of dancing colors.

Skyla briefly heard the start of the barrage, but she had to focus her efforts into cleaving through the final three AK-130s charging her with wrist mounted blades. They came at her with calculated precision and pre-programmed malice, running fluently with gray swords.

Their weapons cast forward out of their arms into sharp extensions; edges curved subtly up into a straight pointed tip then cascaded down into another; blade bending around to guard their elbow.

Skyla's own sword lifted to clash with the glowing red blade of an opposing AI, its back edge shining a bright crimson into her eyes before she forced it away and dashed past it. In a sliding flurry, she slashed out the legs of the robot before spinning to her feet and jamming the tip of each of her swords deep into the visors of the other two mid-lunge.

The loud storm of bullets reminded her of what lay behind her wall, and as she turned numerous bullets slipped through her unguided defense. Rapid machine gun fire crashed into her aura before she could pull her ribbons back for deflection.

The young girl fell to her knees as countless more split their way through her fluctuating defense, each streaking bullet trying to find its mark on the other side. As she withdrew her wall, she pulled it rapidly in and whipped bullets out of their flight paths, purple and white weaving clusters soon surged around her into a tight protective shield.

"Stupid robots… hasn't anyone told you shooting a girl is a bad idea?" Skyla breathed out, her hair cascading down to hide her face. She resided within her orb of shining fabric, each ribbon knit tightly with materials specifically designed for their current use.

Slow footfalls moved forward, guns raised and aimed at Skyla's colorful shield as three robots moved in on her crouching form. The hidden girl listened silently as they approached her with caution.

As soon as the two bots reached opposite sides of her orb… the walls of her shield warped. In a split second, dual ribbons surged out and slammed the two Atlesian Knights deep into the walls of the corridor.

Skyla herself dipped back and in the stilled moment of crushing metal, Allix and Rex leapt over Skyla's shoulders and fired off bolts and arrows amidst their jumps.

Their loosed projectiles easily pierced the framed circuitry of two firing robots, killing their systems before the two teens landed in mirrored tumbles. In a tag-team assault, the two partners switched their weapons into their bladed melee forms and danced a rhythmic movement of mayhem. Rex's ax twirled through the air, smashing away the incoming hail of bullets before Allix dipped beyond his exposed side and slid into the fray.

Her bow-blades slashed through robots on either of her two sides before Rex followed up with a heavy sweeping swing of his sparking weapon. Two more groups of clustered AI fell before Skyla leapt in amidst her teammate's fun, her twin swords dancing like lightning themselves as she tore them through the converging droids.

Wave after wave stepped up to their challenge, but their momentum had already been achieved. The team of fighters in training swept through their squadrons like wildfire. Dishing out sharp lashes in liquid tandem of each other, the trio synced together near-flawlessly and decimated each humanoid robot that dashed in against them.

The dark gray and red opposition had no end to them, each horde rounding the corner again and again as they lashed out with their own sharpened swords. Their tactics were changing, AIs soon kicking off of the wall to attack from above as more swept in from below.

But Rex had initiative here, the silver teen moved in and hefted his ax up. He dug its bladed edge through the torso of each falling bot and completely ripped their internal structures apart with each swing of Dual-Elektro.

Heaps of metal fell to the ground in lifeless fragments wherever the Sahara team members turned, pushing further forward until they finally reached the corner they had rounded not long ago.

* * *

Xera had ruled out every possibility. He had processed and determined the use of every button, switch, slide, and knob on the entire control panel. They were all under heavy assumption of research he had been quickly doing on his scroll, but he was more than sure of each utility's current uselessness.

No, he didn't want to change the water temperature. He didn't want to lower the oxygen supply. Hell, there was even a switch to turn off the glowing blue light at the base of the girl's encasement.

"They put a light switch on a control panel… but not an option to drain the water?" Xera asked out loud, a heavy sigh drifting from his mouth as he ran a hand through his black hair.

He was down here, trying his hardest to work with something foreign to him, while he wished he could've been done with it minutes ago and been there for his team. They needed him, yet this girl also needed him, and subsequently Ozpin needed this girl for some reason.

Closing his eyes, Xera slapped his hands onto his face before peering through his fingers, "Maybe it's manual? A manual override of sorts?" He furthered his self-questioning as he turned to the cryo-chamber again.

_Maybe it's on the tank itself…_

* * *

They weren't expecting it. The momentum was too strong, their speed was too great, but ultimately… it was the reckless abandon of the fight itself that blindsided them.

An immensely sized Spider Droid stood just around the corner. Its heavily reinforced and armor-plated legs were jammed securely into the ground. A form that gave it an unmovable defense…

…and allowed it to activate its greatest offense.

The team's only warning was the immense flash of a blinding blue light. A world altering testament that was accompanied by a sound so incredibly heart wrenching that it tore apart the air itself. Masses of plasma and dust gathered and merged in a dense beam of destructive energy, a growing haze of gleaming particles and bursting energy darkened the very corridor it stood in.

It was as if the energy was sucked out of the lights above and fed into the upcoming beam of death and desolation.

Pale blue thrusters aided in the consumption of energy as the powerful beam charged up to its greatest potential, four of them shining brightly at the four corners of the canon aimed directly at the very corner three teens had just rounded.

It was waiting, it had already been charged, it was programmed… to destroy…

And in the next fleeting second of possible realization, it unleashed its pent up energy in a dense outburst of focused power. The entire canon rocked back from the sheer force of unleashing its densified payload, not even its black and red legs could hold it still.

Rex… Allix… even Skyla… they were all caught within the beam's radius. All the bots around them were vaporized. Even the dust from their disintegrating metal parts was incinerated and destroyed from the energy engulfing them.

With no remorse, the attack sent them hurtling backward and blasted them through the metal wall at the corner's turn. The three team members tumbled through the air before slamming and painfully rolling across a scraping concrete floor.

The two girls were heartlessly thrown into stone columns while the third collided with a wall of metal and glass. Its surface caving in on itself and weightlessly tipping backward from the sheer force of impact, then crashed it forward onto the ground once the g-force receded.

They were in a mostly abandoned parking garage.

Rex had managed to bodily slam into the only vehicle that remained in the wide vacant structure.

"J-just… my… luck." Rex coughed, spitting out droplets of blood as he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

His blurry vision looked up to see the stumbling forms of the two girls. Allix used the pillar she had crashed into for support, and Skyla used her ribbons to help her stand. And casting his gaze beyond them…

Rex watched as the Spider Droid climbed heavily out of the blown out and scorched hole they were just sent through. Its massive body effortlessly scaled down the wall before it launched itself to the floor in front of everyone.

"**You have slaughtered my first five squadrons. Small incompetent humans like you should fall to one of my Spider Droids. They are far superior, as they should be."**

Once again, the intercom crackled to life and a feminine, slightly agitated, voice echoed off of the walls yet again.

"**Save the world? I shall suggest to you a new objective. Save the world from your ignorance and die like the rest of humanity. An apocalypse will come to fruition young ones…" **What sounded like a girlish, yet adult like and knowing, giggle sounded out that placed a pause in whatever it was the AI mastermind was referring to.** "You know little of your forsaken fate."**

…

"**I… will kill you first."**

Her declaration was quickly followed by another buildup of energy. The visor of the Spider Droid suddenly glowed a menacing bright purple, that same purple soon branching out and engulfing all of the bot's red highlights in the same hue.

Its charging laser suddenly stalled, then the canon retracted and the droid powered down for a moment.

That moment was spent regrouping for the three that stood against the bot, but otherwise it was short enough for nothing else to be done.

Its now strangely lit visor glowed a little brighter, basking the dimly lit garage in a purple haze as the Spider Droid took a step forward.

"There… now, it will officially be my personal enjoyment to annihilate you." The Spider Droid, or rather, the master AI spoke through the forced control of the large robot.

Although, the bot soon stopped just fifteen feet away from the teens; all of which were tensely drawing their weapons and preparing their methods of attack.

"Tell me, what are your names?" The feminine AI spoke, her words causing the glow in the Spider Droids visor to flash.

_Why is she asking for our names?_ Allix wondered, staring up at her supposed impending doom. This thing was a tough opponent, tougher than most things she's fought before, but they'll make do with what they have.

They'll defeat it.

"You tell me yours… and I shall tell you mine." Rex stepped forward, planting his ax into the ground and resting his folded arms atop his weapon. His words lingered in the air for a few moments, no one making any moves other than a subtle shift in balance.

"Fair enough. You will all perish, so there are no repercussions for the knowledge of my name." The AI said, taking a short step forward as it spoke. "My name is Karazil, the original War-Mind."

_A War-Mind, what would an AI like her even be doing at a facility like this? Was she developed here? _"If you're important, then why were you left here?" Allix asked after her momentary thoughts.

The head of the Spider Droid seemed to shift its gaze to the archer, before that glow faded ever so slightly, "I am nothing more than a prototype. Development of my systems has been put on a permanent hold due to more pressing matters presenting themselves."

Not only did Karazil sound solemn with that statement, but there was a small amount of resentment present in her tone as well. Was she… capable of emotion? And worse, she _knows_ she'll never be finished.

She's on her final legs.

This crucial fact made the War-Mind all the more dangerous.

"Now." The Spider Droid turned its head back to the three in front of it, "What are the names of the lives I'll be ending tonight?"

It was Skyla's turn to step forward. She gave a small curtsy before looking up at Karazil, "My name is Skyla Xerious, these are my companions." _Was she… was she actually formerly introducing us? _"…Rex Tyro and Allix Stowe. We have come to-"

Allix stepped over and quickly slapped her hand over Skyla's mouth. It was no longer a question of 'if', Skyla was indeed still addled by the effects of cactus juice.

"We're done here." Allix said before stepping back just in time to avoid Rex's leaping form. The tall ax-man spun through the air before slamming his weapon into the upper torso of the Spider Droid. The machine staggered backward momentarily before kicking up with one of its four legs, knocking Rex away.

"You want a swift death? So be it. I shall give it to you." Karazil spoke out one last time before merging its four smaller blasters into its massive merged canon. Once again, the lights dimmed and energy began to converge into a dense central point at the end of its barrel.

At least, until the crumpled heap of a car slammed into Karazil's droid. Its legs tilted and the entire machine crashed to the floor, disrupting the charge-up of its weapon.

"Nice hit!" Skyla cheered, arms raised as her ribbons danced around her jumping form. Rex was still standing in his batting pose, ax held tightly in his grasp as if he had just hit a homerun.

"Oh yeah, that was a solid hit." The guy smirked, letting his ax swoop to the ground now before running forward. "But we can't just let it lay there!"

With a hearty yell, Rex performed an aerial overhead smash down onto the grounded AI, denting its visor inward before leaping off. As soon as he was out of the way, a crimson arrow flew in and pierced the robot's purple visage.

Skyla then threw her ribbons forward as Rex landed, "Catch!"

The guy looked up just in time to reach out and catch Skyla's surging streaks of color, wrapping them around his hand once before planting his feet in the ground.

As the robot began to stand back up and recover, Rex's eyes pooled red before he growled and yanked on Skyla's ribbons. His muscles tensed and raw strength sent the young girl hurdling swiftly through the air.

With a humorous laugh, she slashed out one of the Spider Droids legs. Her speed was more than enough to pierce the mechanisms within its shielded shell before she tumbled to the ground behind it.

Her momentary victory was short lived though, as the droid's central canon split back into four miniature blasters and began firing volatile orbs of purple energy.

Skyla and Rex scattered, the concrete ground getting torn to shreds in their wakes as Allix loosed more arrows at the turning barrel of her opposition. Most of them only glanced off of the AI's armor, but some made their way into crevices in the design.

She just needed to deal damage and hit something vital.

Her next shot disappeared into one of the chinks in the firing Spider Droid's legs, causing that leg to power off and force the droid into another stumble. "Two legs down! It's immobile!" She called out, nocking another arrow and aiming for its head again.

However, she had to quickly dive out of the way as the Spider Droid turned and sent a barrage of explosive energy orbs her way. Pillars and concrete shattered as she made a mad dash around the downed enemy, keeping its attention now for her teammates to do something.

* * *

"You have to be kidding me." Xera sighed, stepping fully around the girl's encasement and examining each tube closely. They were all perfectly identical and exactly the same temperature. And what was worse, the glass itself hummed with an electrical current.

_I wonder how breakable it is… _He thought, before drawing a lien coin out of his pocket and taking a couple steps back.

With a large wind-up, and an aura enforced pitch… Xera threw the coin forward in a sudden lunge of speed. His arm passed through the air in a blur, and the burst of momentum he put behind the small coin was enough to create a dispersing shockwave.

Unfortunately, despite the immense speed… the coin didn't so much as even reach the glass before it shook with electricity and was rebounded.

It dashed back, twice as fast, and forced Xera to lean his head a little to the side to avoid potential death by money. The coin soon carved itself into the wall behind him in a rapidly spinning and scorching heap of charred metal.

"The voltage is definitely lethal."

Another explosion rocked the facility though, and he turned his gaze back to the elevator doors.

"They're fighting something big out there…" He needed to do something, and fast. They needed his help. But what was there to do?

* * *

"Heads up!" Rex shouted in warning, just as a flurry of orbs crashed into the ground where Skyla had just been. The area was entirely burnt and battered, its original flatness ruined now thanks to the consistent barrages coming from the Spider Droid.

"How do we take it out for good?" Allix asked, dipping behind a pillar.

"We kill it of course!" Skyla supplied from behind her own pillar.

"But how?! Its armor is incredible!"

"Draw its attention for now." Rex spoke out, grabbing the two girls' attention before he gave them a confident nod. "Let me take it out in one go, I just need a little time-"

"On it!" Skyla called out, not letting the man finish his statement. She charged in with reckless abandon, laughing loudly and immediately drawing the enemy's gaze. She flipped and twisted in her mad dash, avoiding the volatile flares of energy as she made her way forward.

With a leap and a spin, she got in range then slashed madly with her twin blades at the AI's helmet. However, each slash was met with solid armor and the droid deflected each of her swipes.

"Fool, charging me with no plan at all. Humanity is a growing race of idiots." Karazil remarked as she made one of her last functional legs kick upward, but Skyla was able to plant her feet atop the appendage and use it to launch herself away.

As soon as she did that, Allix leapt up and caught Skyla in the air. The two spun for a moment then landed in a roll, now reengaging the AI War-Mind together. The two of them dipped in and out of the robot's guard, slipping around its legs and slashing at whatever they could.

"Your blades fail to pierce me, yet you persist." One of the legs suddenly kicked outward, catching Skyla's side and sending her tumbling painfully away. "And yet…" Allix suddenly got hit as well, her form getting thrown into the nearest pillar as the bot struggled to balance on two appendages. "…you still fight. It is admiral, but not even defeating this Spider Droid will save you."

A low, unearthly growl suddenly bathed the parking garage in a new veil of tension. Rex stood up from where he crouched, his eyes were flooded with a bright crimson and gave off faint glows of immense power.

"Hmm? What's this?" Karazil seemed intrigued, but that didn't last for long. Rex's slow pace soon turned into a run, and with a bellowing yell he slammed his ax into the ground. His heavy weapon ruptured the concrete beneath his feet and forced his body to be launched forward like a pole-vaulter.

A rapid flurry of orbs was sent his way, The Spider Droid hoping to catch him in the air. Rex didn't even consider dodging. His brow only furrowed as his entire body was met with a resounding explosion and a thick cloud of smoke.

Each orb met its mark… all of them imploding to force a shockwave emanating from their point of conversion on Rex's chest.

"Easy to fall-" Karazil cut herself off, the machine stumbling backward as Rex immerged from the smoke. His trench coat trailed with gray streams as he spun around, ax swinging heftily through the air, before yelling once more and putting all his strength into a final landing cleave.

His weapon crushed the Spider Droid's upper shoulder, completely causing the metal to cave in before Rex cut through the surface and dragged his blade through the entire body of the AI. A loud metal clang sounded out as Rex's ax made contact with the ground, shattering the stone there and embedding his ax deep into the clutches of the garage's floor.

All around him, sparks reached out and snapped the air. The severed body of the Spider Droid lingered for just a few moments, its internal workings glowing and sending out electrical discharges as it swayed. The two halves slowly began to lean away… and then proceeded to topple to the ground with a loud echoing thud.

"Hah…" Rex mock-laughed, but he fell to his knee and took in a long breath, "Serves you right… for underestimating us."

"**Underestimating you say?"**

Karazil's voice shot through the speakers once again, and Rex turned his blue eyes to see that the Spider Droid's colors were back to their bright red.

"**Perhaps you are right. Then how about this? I shall now overestimate you." **Karazil spoke in an intrigued voice, soon letting out a natural hum, **"My Spider Droid has sufficiently blinded you. For you failed to notice one crucial thing."**

Rex's scroll suddenly glowed in his pocket and he pulled it out, answering it as quickly as he could upon seeing Caza's caller ID. Their teacher, who all this time… was fighting her own fight on the surface of the facility. "The droids are pulling out?! What's going on?!"

"**Oh? It appears your guide has realized at least one piece of this puzzle. That is too bad, really. Your small minds cannot comprehend the meaning of such a simple order."**

"No…" Allix pushed herself to her knees, her dark silver eyes looking to Rex. A look a dread washing over her.

"**Allix Stowe, I am assuming you are the smart one. Oh well, it is far too late."**

"We… we have to get out of here. Now!"

All light to the outside world was suddenly closed off in the next few seconds. Emergency doors all around them slamming closed, trapping them inside the facility as all lights suddenly dimmed went out. An alarm blared throughout the facility, and new red lights flashed from the walls encompassing the teens.

"**Like I said, it is too late for your survival young ones. It was an honest fight, but a useless one. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Though, I will spare you the drama..." **Karazil giggled again, her voice overpowering the alarm with ease.

What she said next though… was more alarming than the wailing sirens themselves, **"…there will be no countdown."**

And then without so much as another word spoken…

…

The entire compound exploded.

* * *

**That was one of my favorite scenes in the extended version to the Lord of the Rings. Oh who am I kidding, I loved them all. I can't watch the series without watching the extended versions now. Even though it brings each movie to nearly 4 hours and all in two-parts… I love them to death, including the nine hours of behind the scenes footage. That scene was just another one of the competitive moments between Legolas and Gimli during their battle at Helm's Deep. Although… that was a certain extended scene that involved Gimli sitting atop an orc with his ax lodged inside its head. It was awesome… and hilarious.**

**The Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite set of movies… of all time.**

**So yeah, there was that cool scene. Oh, did you want me to mention something about the whole place blowing up? Right, uh… yeah that was a thing. Heh.**

**I hope they survived!**

_**REVIEW!**_** Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

_**Favorite **_**and **_**Follow**_** the story. Don't you want to know what happened?**

**Cya XP**


	58. Trinity Restore

**Boom?**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 58: Trinity Restore

**Third Person**

"**Underestimating you say?"**

Once again, that female AI's voice shot through the speakers. The voice fell on Xera's ears as if it were bathed in arrogance and concealed confidence. Something he picked up on.

It was the first warning, one of many.

"**Perhaps you are right. Then how about this? I shall now overestimate you." **In an intrigued voice now, she continued with a gentle hum, **"My Spider Droid has sufficiently blinded you. For you failed to notice one crucial thing."**

Dark green eyes turned upward, their frantic search for a way to drain the water turning up absolutely futile. "Are you sure they're pulling out?" He asked aloud, not even glancing at the scroll in his hand as he tore off a small panel at the base of the girl's confinement.

"I'm certain. They've just up and left the facility, and now they have nearly completely cleared out up here." Caza responded through the leader's ear buds. That wasn't a good sign, and with where this master AI was leading her words… it definitely wasn't going to end well.

"Warn the others. And do it fast, give them as much time as possible. I just hope they can make it out…" Xera trailed off, but spoke sternly.

Immediately, the line went dead.

They had thirty seconds.

…

And so did he.

Colored wires, assorted in clumps and singular paths leading and branching out from a central circuit board lay beneath the discarded panel. _These look important…_ Drawing his sword in a flash, he slashed through the wires.

"**Oh? It appears your guide has realized at least one piece of this puzzle. That is too bad, really. Your small minds cannot comprehend the meaning of such a simple order."**

"Come on… please tell me that did something…" Xera spoke through a tense grimace, standing from his crouch and looking back to the white haired kumiho. She still looked as timeless as before. Not a grimace, not a buzz of any emotion, nothing. Those wires… did nothing.

_The electrical current?_ Xera wondered, before reaching a hand out and brushing it by the glass. He had no time to throw another coin at it. Those few inches were all it needed. A spark of energy erupted across the distance. It connected sharply with his hand that glanced in front of the glass for less than a moment. A surging white bolt quickly slammed into his skin and bones, shocking his entire arm before sending the phoenix backward.

"**Allix Stowe, I am assuming you are the smart one. Oh well, it is far too late."**

With a twist, Xera slammed his sneakers into the ground and slid his light frame to a stop. Subtle traces of white electricity flickered from his hand before he waved it off. "An energy current too strong to approach… and…" Xera split his longsword in two then flourished up his twin blades, their forms folding and sliding to reveal glistening barrels steadily held in a dual gunner stance.

Annivia's Talons then recoiled upward, double bangs rattling the walls of the small room before two dense slugs were fired straight into the glass beneath the floating girl.

"…glass so unbreakable it can even withstand the blast of my modified shotguns." Xera concluded, his anxiety growing with the increasing number of stops dropping heartlessly in his way.

In his way to help this girl.

Crushed, the metal bullets fell uselessly to the floor in crumpled heaps of discouragement.

Sirens suddenly blared out all around him, lighting up the solemnly dark room with flashes of red.

"This is bad." Xera's gaze switched to the countless black tubes being fed into the girl's cryo-chamber. The glass could no doubt withstand an explosion… but there's no way those will. One of those is feeding her oxygen as well.

If she's still in there… when this facility gets blown off the face of Krono Desert… fire, ash, smoke… all of it will rupture her oxygen supply and rapidly shoot through those tubes.

She'll die.

"**Like I said, it is too late for your survival young ones. It was an honest fight, but a useless one. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Though, I will spare you the drama..." **A giggle graced this perpetrator's voice, her silken tone overpowering the alarm with ease.

_No… if there's no other way… _Xera slammed his blades back together. His teeth bit into his bottom lip hard as he sent a tilted gaze to the girl floating helplessly in the water. "I'm sorry…"

"…**there will be no countdown."**

Dropping into a low stance, Xera threw his sword backward. The onyx blade gleamed in the glow of blue and red, reflecting even the water's flowing images as it spun in a tantalizingly slow spiral.

Xera couldn't wait any longer, there was no time.

He could only do one thing… the only option he had left…

His eyes opened, revealing shining silver orbs just as his longsword's pommel left his fingertips. Adrenaline flowed through his body like a reenergized burst of slowing seconds.

It was all the time he could buy.

Tension built in his legs, aura flooded into them at the same rate it poured into his wrists. In less than a fraction of a second later, he dematerialized. Dashing from his spot, not even the sound of the sirens caught up to him.

Two blinding lights streaked through the air, their contrasting colors dragging in a flurry of glowing green wisps within Xera's wake. Shining ruby bracelets lit up the entire room, basking the metal walls in a glow powerful enough to wash out any and all external light sources.

A third glow appeared not a moment later, a blade that drifted through the air in stilled silence… glowed as bright as Xera's shining bracelets. Its reversed trajectory was suddenly halted, physics itself failed to grasp the weapon. Not even gravity was able to get a hold of it before the black sword was ripped from the clutches of reality.

An aura infused weapon, crafted in such a way to awaken the potential for 'Aura Lock'… pierced through the air. A glint of white flashed over its solid pommel as it was ruthlessly locking onto Xera's twin gold accessories.

With his wrists held together, Xera threw his arms forward. He had flooded his bracelets with enough aura to pull a ten ton boulder. If bullets couldn't break this glass… maybe an object propelled beyond the speed of sound could.

Deactivating his aura lock at the last possible second, Xera separated his wrists just as his sword split the air between his hands.

It was then that the facility erupted. The sound hammering through the underground levels as if meteors were striking its surface in an orbital bombardment. Before the dust could even fall, a different explosion violently shook the lowest sectors.

The piercing wail of glass stormed through the room, the capsule shattering so forcefully the shards didn't even have a moment to fracture. A mass of metal, moving faster than the eye could see, bathed in a solid red glow completely destroyed the encasement surrounding the girl.

Her entire confinement imploded, the shimmering crystals of glass and water erupting outward in a cone of lethal fleeting particles. Instantly, the line of red was followed by dancing streaks of green. The sound of cloth tearing was muffled by the ear stunning thunder of crashing glass… and a flash of black was all that was seen before fire bent, warped, and bellowed through the elevator shaft.

Not a second went by before Sector 'E' was flooded with an overwhelming surge of dust and roaring flames.

* * *

It all happened so fast. They had only mere moments before the billowing fires would pour over them.

Rex was the first to act, throwing down his battle axe in favor of something more important. In a mad dash, he made his way over to Allix in a heartbeat and slammed his arms and legs into the ground to cover her.

He was the only one on his feet… this was all he could do for his team.

"N-no… Rex don't-" Allix strained her neck and back, trying to usher Rex's action away. She wasn't worth it. He shouldn't risk his own life… for hers. If anything… Skyla was the one that needed protecting.

Her dark silver eyes had a moment to cast to the side, rushing flames crumbling the pillars beyond them as she watched Skyla crawl across the ground.

"Idiot." Rex breathed out, his eyes slowly brimming with red once again. "There's no time. Find Xera, call for EVAC… and… survive…" His words trailed off as he overexerted himself, sacrificing the last half of his aura to protect his partner.

She could only stare up at him in disbelief, frustration… unwilling acceptance. But she was too weak to make any more of an argument.

There was no time anyway.

Fire clawed at the interior of the garage, scraping and screaming as it blew through the entire compound.

Skyla rolled to her knees, eyes watching the approaching wave of scorching fury… before her world and everyone else's became bathed in a rushing force of blazing dust.

* * *

Outside the compound, the darkness of the night became bathed in the shuddering glow of a new sun. Rupturing the very sand that supported it, the compound sent stone and metal shimmering through the cold night air.

Smoke leapt into the sky to hide away the stars, letting their glinting lights shimmer away behind a new veil of blackness.

The walls that surrounded the facility crumbled. Entire sections shook violently. Walkways and towers alike fell to pieces as they blew outward in flurries of heated fragments.

A secondary ball of fire erupted from the northeastern side of the compound. More ground buildings exploded, sending additional chunks scattering across the sands of the desert in flaming heaps of tumbling rubble.

The silhouette of the research center stood, glass long since shattered and glistening through the air in clouds of deadly shards. Its shadow loomed behind a wall of bright orange and billowing black… before a third explosion knocked out its structurally sound base.

More fire violently burst out from the bottom levels of the tower, firing upward in sequential blasts as they tore through the floors in record time. By the time the flames illuminated the top windows of the central building… the base began to collapse.

The entire building shook violently as it crashed down to the scorched clutches of the desert, hammering itself into a massive pile of dust and stone.

No one expected it. No one knew the place was rigged with explosives. It was a trap from the start. If anyone were to have ventured within that facility, through the safeguard of countless Atlesian Knights, they would have triggered the fallback plan that had been set from the very beginning.

A contingency plan.

Protect the research… or destroy it if a threat arises.

Professor Miralla could only watch as the entire compound began to smolder. Blistering heat melted the metal framework that littered the ground below. Ash ridden black heaps of debris lay scattered across the remnants of the desert floor, adamant to stay burning for as long as they could. Fires blazed all throughout the ruins of the facility, countless groans of bending metal strained out into the shrill atmosphere… the sound of crumbling stone and whipping flames the only other noises blanketing the desert below.

"X-… Xera?" Caza spoke, her voice unsure of what emotion to settle on. Horror, grief, fear, hopeless doubt… she could only wait and listen. If there was any chance of anyone's scrolls retaining some amount of communication… she was going to try contacting them.

"Anyone?" She said again, staring into the feed of her student's faces. Each image was faded and buzzed with static overlays, their aura signatures remained unknown.

The professor waited, her grimace only pulling at her lips a little more with the lack of response from anyone below. Lanza tilted his beak to the side, letting out a whimpered squawk up to the woman sitting atop his back.

"I-it's alright, Lanza. They're fine…" She spoke softly, gripping the nevermore's feathers tightly, "…I hope."

She called each scroll once again, trying to reach out to the teens she was supposed to protect. "Please, someone answer-"

A short, nearly unheard crackle disrupted the scroll's call sequence. It… came from one of their scrolls.

"Is our bullhead repaired yet?" A familiar voice asked, speaking through the scroll.

Caza couldn't have been more relieved to hear someone speak. A long, drawn out breath escaped her lungs as she relaxed some of the tension building up within her. "Xera, you're okay."

"Yeah, I'll try to find the others. Would you mind making sure we have a ride out of here… and soon?"

"Of course, will you be alright on your own?"

There was a moment of silence from the other end, and for a brief second… she had thought he'd say otherwise, "I can manage."

"Good, I expect to see you and the rest of your team after I get our pilot over here. Don't go and back down on your word."

Xera chuckled from his end, the sound of debris shifting echoing through as well, "I never do that. You can trust me."

* * *

Xera set his scroll back into his pocket, slipping it against the fabric of his clothes as he looked down in front of him. The entire room was burning. The once pristine metal walls were bent, flat surfaces now scorched and whining in agony. Their steel faces dangerously warped and folded by the initial force of the explosion.

His now dark blue eyes remained locked in a worried expression. Black bangs subtly drifted in front of his gaze, but he ignored them… like he'd been ignoring the flames.

Carefully, he unwrapped his sleek black wings from the form clutched gently to his chest. When the glass shattered, he had just enough time to catch the girl before she fell. Once she was in his arms, he sealed her within a shield of his own wings.

Their feathery bases flexed against the torn fabric of his sweatshirt's back. There wasn't time to take his sweatshirt off, so he had to pierce through the fabric with the tips of his wings. It was nothing more than an afterthought though.

Once his wings relaxed at his sides, he leaned forward and pressed his ear to the girl's chest.

_Please… give me a sign that you're alive…_

It was faint.

Nearly inaudible… but no less real. She was alive. The subtlest of heartbeats reached his ear… there was no telling how long it'd last.

_I haven't saved her yet… _Xera knew the options at his disposal weren't fair. If he'd have left her in that chamber, she would've died. If they didn't come here at all, and she was left here on her own like it was intended… she still wouldn't have survived.

And now that she was free from her confinement… she still wasn't going to make it.

Reality hadn't pulled her from her timeless stasis yet.

A stasis that was slowly laying her to rest.

"Time to wake up." Xera spoke quietly as he lifted his head, and then turned the kumiho in his arms. His wings once again stirred, brushing across the hot ground as they laid their ends flat beneath her form. The phoenix then let her rest atop their soft feathers, checking her pulse one more time just to make sure she wasn't lost yet.

As he readjusted her tails to lie across his wings as well, lest they burn against the heated ground, he gently breathed out before closing his eyes. It was bound to have been tried before, more than once no doubt with this sleeping fox.

But… with any hope… he'd be able to make a difference.

He'd developed a variation of the aura technique.

It'd be enough.

Opening his eyes slightly, he began to urge his aura to circulate through his own body. A soothing wave of pacifying energy washed over him, warm and healing. It was what he needed.

With a glow emanating from his colored irises, Xera leaned in and placed his forehead softly against hers. _The soul resides in the heart. The body. And the mind. Three places where it manifests most… _His right hand came up and rested against the fox-yōkai's quietly beating heart. Lastly, his left settled gently against her stomach… where most aura users' energy ordinarily circulates.

Trinity Restore… as some would call it.

Xera's circulating aura subtly glowed across his kneeling form. His hands soon became basked in the same glow. Lidded eyes glowed brighter before closing, his bangs then silently drifted under the whims of an invisible wind as the rest of his body became bathed in warmth.

Fire began to trickle over his figure, slowly working from the center of his back and outward. Black wings became covered in a harmless haze of flames, in sync his arms and body followed. The three points Xera touched on the girl's body began to glow brighter, his aura drifting into each vital spot and urging her aura to begin to circulate on its own.

_There._ With the faintest of circulations started, Xera transferred his flames onto the girl in his arms. Steam wisped into the smoke ridden room, the water dripping from her skin dissipated under the new sheen of soothing heat.

Fire… a tool to destroy, to burn, to harm any living creature that so much as approached it. It was nature's weapon; something that was designed in virtue and in fate. Its sole purpose… was to destroy.

A world can burn at the lightest of touches. It could scorch the lands and boil the seas, it'd end what little life that resided across its lands in mere moments.

Fear. Emblazed by that emotion, fire was an instigator of fear. It was too volatile to control and too uncontrollable to be rendered harmless.

Lives were forsaken to this element forged in the furnaces of death.

Yet… it brought warmth. A soothing comfort so willingly accepted, it abolished all fear. A tool that destroys… but also creates. Lives bask in its glow, knowing the risk it brought to their survival.

Fire ignites flickering images of beauty. It's _alive_… it breathes, it moves, it thrives.

Something that could be so devastating… could also be so forgiving. A double edged sword in nature and in purpose, this was a tool controversially believed to be a fault. It could never hope to truly be used for any good will.

And yet… a new purpose can always be found within the depths of danger.

To heal, to burn, to kill, to save. Fire is the culmination of life and death. Its flames sit atop golden scales, balanced perfectly at the edge of divinity and the grasp of fate.

Fleeting embers… whether fueled by hate or love, they will continue to burn for eternity.

It was in these thoughts that Xera focused his flames to heal. He wished to bring this girl back to life, to reignite the aura flowing through her veins from its dormant stasis.

Creeping flames grew slowly around them, orange and yellow tormentors of heat wanting nothing more than to burn the two teens to ash. Ethereally, those very columns of fire bathed the two in the light of the burning room. Walls of searing temperatures and groaning metal shined brightly, roaring and shredding the oxygen throughout the underground sector.

_Breath… that's all I ask…_

As Xera's fire soothed and danced across their clothes and pale skin, the surrounding air began to drift from an unknown source. The smoke and drifting specks of ash swirled, softly fluttering in a gradual current.

His flames flickered in the subtle breeze, licking at the air that pushed its glistening light.

A silence now settled over the two teens.

The circling winds drifted to a slow halt, tension that lingered whittled away… and in the sound of silence that followed.

A heartbeat brought reality back to the perpetual stillness.

…and then another; stronger and filled with life.

The fox-yōkai in Xera's arms suddenly pushed upward, a soft intake of air filled her lungs before her form relaxed back into his wing's embrace.

Xera soon pulled back with a subtle smile, his now sky blue eyes opening as his fire receded from the steadily breathing kumiho. His intact clothes brightened for a moment as his flames dissipated soon after; threads sewn with the purest of flame dust rendered it durable against the claws of fire.

If anything, it was a conduit for his affinity.

_Time to get you out of here. _Thoughts translated into actions as Xera called his blade to his grasp, catching the hot metal with ease before reconnecting it over his shoulder. He then slipped his arms beneath the girl's back and knees, slowly lifting the kumiho bridal style as he stood. It was time to go find the rest of his team.

Lazily, three white fox-tails drifted back and forth as Xera made his way to the elevator doors. The furry appendages brushed against his waist and questioned the true softness of his own wings.

Warding off hungry flames as he entered the elevator doors, Xera protected his passenger against the inferno surrounding him. Rivers of fire pushed outward as the phoenix gazed up through the burning elevator shaft.

Blistering heat hazed the very air he breathed, but he paid no heed to something he was forced to grow used to. Instead, it just ushered him to push a little more aura into protecting the kumiho from the harsh fires that still lingered.

The explosion left the roof of the elevator compartment non-existent. A new widely gaping hole lay torn at all sides of the scorched box, sharp edges bending inward from the sheer force of something far stronger than its own structural integrity.

It made things easier.

Holding the girl closer to him, Xera drew their central masses slightly together as his wings fanned upward. The subtlest of twitches fluttered out as the fox's white ears lifted contentedly. Whether that be the warmth Xera was emitting or her deprivation of life finally being over, he didn't know.

But he was glad she was comfortable.

He then dropped into a low crouch, letting his wings flex and tense as they opened up further. Then with a concussive burst of air, Xera swept his wings downward and took off.

A black and white blur shot up the center of the melting elevator shaft, dashing easily through the stifling air before drifting to a hover at a floor above. The doors were already open, probably torn open by the AK-130s, so Xera easily glided forward into the floor he'd last seen his team on.

He dashed through the corridors like a passing shadow. Flames that brimmed the halls leaned away from his every move, as if the blazing inferno itself was afraid to touch his figure. As he approached the end, his eyes took notice of the plasma-burned hole at the corner's bend.

_The high pitched surge I heard… it had to have been a Spider Droid. _Xera thought as he kept his pace, slipping through the outward tear in the wall before entering a stable glide down to the concrete floor below.

Immediately, his eyes fell upon the scene before him.

"Rex…" Xera's voice came out in a strained whisper, his now dark blue eyes falling on the form of his silver-haired teammate.

Rex lay on his back, his trench coat still smoldering from the heat that engulfed him. Tears and scorch marks littered his clothes, his scroll lay clattered to the side. His aura was displayed on its small screen.

Next to him, Allix kneeled with red-rimmed eyes. The air was too dry for her to cry, but it was heart-wrenchingly obvious she wanted to. Her dark silver eyes remained locked on the scroll's screen.

_She must have pulled it out to check… _It was now that he noticed Rex's aura bar. Slowly, steadily, it was draining.

The heat that littered his skin and clothes… it was still burning him.

4%.

It just passed the four percent margin. He was far beyond critical. Allix's gaze flicked upward as soon as a pair of black sneakers entered her field of vision. Eyes entranced with sorrow and guilt, and hidden beneath those layers of sickening depression lay a growing field of doubt.

Nothing put Xera off more than the sight of depression.

He hated it.

"X-xera, I don't think he's-" The archer's voice hitched, breaking off her sentence with a twisted intake of sharp air.

"He'll be fine." His response forced a saddening grimace out of Allix.

"H-how? His aura is n-nearly exhausted." The back of her hand wiped across her eyes as she stiffened, "Y-you can't just say that. T-there was…" Her voice broke again as Xera lowered to his knees, making sure to keep the white haired kumiho in his arms. "There were traces of napalm in the blast… it's still draining him. A-and once his aura is gone…"

She trailed off again.

_Enough._ "I've always lived by a code my mother once mentioned. No matter how sickeningly hopeless something appears. No matter how much faith has already burned away. Nothing is ever truly lost to the odds of something else. A risk isn't a risk unless it fails." Xera spoke softly, examining his teammate's body that lay before him, "There is always a 100% success rate so long as it succeeds. So, no matter what… it's always worth it to try. That's all that matters."

Removing his lowest supporting hand, Xera let the fox-yōkai's legs rest atop his own as he reached down and hovered his palm over Rex's form. He soon closed his eyes and blocked out the world around him, using his aura and affinity to sense the heat radiating off of the downed huntsmen.

"You see… life always has a balance." He spoke as he focused, pinpointing the locations of each residual cluster of napalm eating into Rex's aura. "Whether or not you reside on that balance… is not up to you. Whether or not it remains in equilibrium… that _is _up to you. You just have to know what to do when the scales begin to shift."

With the superheated liquid found, Xera flexed his fingers and mentally grasped at the hidden flames covering Rex. Whatever napalm that was still burning away at him was suddenly lifted from their places. Broken streams spilled upward and out of Rex's clothes before gathering into a fluctuating orb and getting cast away.

"He should be fine now, we'll just have to keep him away from anything that could hurt him." _Unfortunately, that'll be a nearly impossible task. Not with what I fear has heard the massive explosion. _Xera sighed, letting out a breath as he opened his eyes.

Allix remained still. Her eyes lingering on the discarded napalm now eating away at the concrete to their side. It wasn't long before that gaze turned back to Rex and widened to see him stir ever so slightly.

"I-I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have doubted-"

"It's alright." Xera interrupted, standing to his feet with the girl he held.

It was now that Allix decided to bring up the question that nagged at the back of her thoughts. Before, it wasn't as important as Rex's condition, but now that he was alright… "Who's she?"

Xera's eyes turned back to the archer and he shrugged his shoulders, "She was in the lowest sector. If I didn't break her out of her cryo-chamber, the explosion would've killed her." _None of the odds were in this girl's favor._

"Okay. What is she though? I've never seen a fox faunus with white fur, let alone one with three tails."

"She's a kumiho. A fox-yōkai. They must have tracked her down and merged her DNA with attributes of my own." He responded, looking down at the sleeping girl's face.

_And… it's likely they infused an element into her aura as well… since my DNA gave her the focused adaptability trait._

"I assume we'll be taking her with us?"

"Yup."

Allix hummed quietly before nodding her head in silence.

"Where's Skyla?" Xera asked, his gaze roaming around the large parking garage structure; or what remained of it.

The archer's gaze turned downward after her own search of the area, "I haven't seen her since the explosion." She spoke, her shoulders tensing from her decision to attend to her own partner rather than check to see if Skyla was okay.

She expected Xera to lash out at her for sparing Skyla nothing more than a thought.

Instead, Xera turned his head to the smoldering heaps of melted metal. What used to be the Spider Droid.

"We both care for our partners… I'll find her."

His gaze soon found itself to a peculiar sight beyond the destroyed AI, his eyes then focused on what lay behind it.

_Skyla… _Quickly, Xera walked around the remains of the droid in search of his partner. Dread, doubt, and despair threatened to turn his eyes black. The only color he's never truly displayed more than once in his life.

But he forced those thoughts away before they could even surface.

She had to be okay.

With the obstacle clear of obstructing his view, Xera walked over to an anomaly he was drawn to. A… crater had formed near the wall. And as soon as he was close enough, his thoughts recycled and reprocessed what he was looking at.

Skyla, the person he's come to care for like a little sister… lay on her side in the center of the indentation. Cement cracked and scattered its pieces all around her unconscious form, and all around the ridge of the crater…

Burned an ever blazing ring of fire.

The ring dispersed though as soon as Xera approached, dying to the whim of his own will as he stepped slowly into the sunken depression on the stone ground.

"Skyla…" _How did she-? No… I know. It's been a long time coming… _A smile pulled at Xera's features as swirling eyes settled into that of sky blue again, "It's about time you discovered your semblance."

The young, purple accentuated girl lay perfectly unscathed at Xera's feet. His fond gaze turning away now as he looked to Allix over the edge of the crater, "She's fine. Let's get out of here! We've lingered here for far too long."

Explosions cause a lot of noise, noise that carries across far greater reaches of land if it erupts in a barren desert. A desert inhabited by deadly grimm.

They needed to leave. An all-out battle against an armada of grimm was out of the question. Two of their members were down, one was injured, and the last could only try to protect as many as he could. But numbers weren't looking good, and that will continue to worsen the longer they remained in the burning rubble of this compound.

"How are we getting out of here?" Allix called out, standing to her feet as she looked around for Rex's ax.

"Professor Miralla is collecting our EVAC. We just have to hope she gets here as quickly as she can."

"And if she doesn't?"

"We'll have to hold off against swarms of grimm until she does."

"That's… not good."

"Nope, so let's go." Xera leapt out of the crater and made his way over to Rex, "I need you to carry Skyla. I'll handle the big guy."

Allix's eyes suddenly widened as she dropped the large battle axe she was in the middle of lifting, "…how are you going to carry him… _and_ that girl?"

She asked, though her eyes didn't remain fixed on his own. They had found yet another point of interest now that her mind wasn't running rampant. Dark silver orbs traced the contours of Xera's wings as she awaited his response.

Out of sheer curiosity, Xera ruffled his wings for a moment and let them fan out again. To his assumption, her eyes followed every movement they made.

"I'll use my wings somehow. And you don't have to stare at them."

The phrase caused Allix to flinch for a moment and she quickly looked away, "S-sorry."

"No need to be sorry, I wanted to show you all anyway. At some point." _I guess it happened sooner rather than later. _He inwardly sighed, but he wasn't regretting having to show them off.

It made things less dramatic… even though he had a common theme of making most things more dramatic than they needed to be.

With a quiet nod, Xera let Allix pick up Duel-Elektro then run off to where Skyla laid. He then turned to Rex and thought for a moment about how he was actually going to carry him.

_I could carry him over my shoulders…_ Measuring up the potential weight that'd bring, Xera shrugged away the possible hindrances and crouched down. Using the strength in his wings, he slipped them beneath Rex's form and cradled him into his grasp.

Rolling him for a moment before lifting him with subtle ease, Xera rested Rex's unconscious body atop his shoulders, using the wings as a means to hold and stabilize the taller teen.

_There we go… should be nice and stable… I hope. _Xera thought as he cast a gaze upward, hoping his friend wouldn't do anything to throw off his current balance. Rex practically weighs more than four times Xera's own weight after all. But that's just an estimate.

Allix soon walked up to his side, Skyla cradled in her own arms much like the kumiho that resided in his. Rex's battle axe was strapped securely to the archer's quiver; leaving Skyla's weapons holstered on the unconscious girl's form should she wake up in time to fight.

* * *

They didn't make it more than three feet from the garage's collapsed exit. After a climb up rolling debris and a mountain of inwardly destroyed stone, you'd think the light up on the other side was a good thing. But when they got there…

"Oh? Well this is interesting… you survived." An Atlesian Knight spoke, though this one had glowing purple highlights rather than gleaming red ones.

"You're the one who spoke on the intercom I presume?" Xera asked, switching his gaze to Allix for a moment and she sent him a confirming nod.

"That is correct, I have access to many things." The purple AI spoke again with her controversially sweet voice, "Though, sadly… I wasn't able to detect any of your scrolls. How come?"

_Because I encrypted them. _"Maybe you just can't pick up their signals? The only scroll tower here was just destroyed after all." Xera responded.

The robot tilted its head in mild curiosity, its violet visor glowing a little brighter as the seconds drew on, "I highly doubt your inquiry, yet I have no more reasons to question it myself. I have met with Allix, Rex, and Miss Skyla. However… I have yet to meet you. Why is it that I could not detect your presence within my facility?"

_Magic! _"I'm a ninja." In a way, that was probably more accurate than his previous thought.

"Ninja? I have detected ninjas before. They are quite… annoying. You are different."

"Different? Maybe. However, you are as well." Xera let his eyes roam for a moment before drifting them back to his instigator. With the burning rubble at their backs, they faced an army of androids. The front lines were cluttered with organized rounded lines of Atlesian Knights, all of which had their machine guns lifted and aimed at their current positions. Beyond them were three Spider Droids, all positioned at the three different sides of what could've been their escape routes.

No bot moved as this conversation took place, this… very unorthodox conversation.

"I am originally created to be different, yes. I control all these bots after all."

"Why were you left here then?"

"Because I was incomplete." The female AI responded with ease.

"You seem pretty complete to me."

What was equivalent to a feminine chuckle caused the master AI's colors to glow before it lifted a hand beneath its chin. It tilted its head a little further before resting that arm's elbow within its other hand.

"I am incomplete… because I developed emotions."

_Damnit! SEE?! This is why we shouldn't try to create AIs that have more capabilities than we do! _"So, they left you here because you became human. That's pretty cruel."

"Cruel, such a harsh term for leaving behind an obsolete program." She responded with no remorse.

"Ouch." Xera spoke his thoughts this time, "Don't you have any desire to live longer?"

The AI paused for a moment, not returning with an immediate rebuttal this time. It was all Xera needed.

He stopped her before she could give her next calculated response, "What's your name?"

"My name? I am Karazil, the original Wa-"

"That's a nice name." Xera interrupted, leaning a little to his side to slip Rex's body off his shoulders. With a little shrug, he managed to gently rest the ax-wielder onto the ground. "You should introduce yourself to more people, it'd be better than sitting here for the remainder of your pre-programmed lifespan."

"I… do not follow. How is my name nice?"

_Heh, so that's what you decide to question? Not the other thing? _Taking a step forward, Xera waved off Allix's own advancement and motioned for her to remain at Rex's side. "It's nice… because you have one. And it's a good one too. At least they didn't name you after some longwinded number code."

"A good point. I do prefer Karazil over a sequence of numbers and letters." Karazil responded. Her interest in these teens was still gradually rising, even though she was tasked to kill them.

_Even if our ride gets here, how are we even going to reach it? It's two of us… against an armada of robots and a sea of enclosing grimm. One of us is injured… I could always- no, it'd harm my friends too. I can't do that… not yet. _"What is your current assignment?" Xera asked after his moment of thought.

"To protect the research by any means necessary." Karazil responded happily, tilting her head forward ever so slightly. The simple action laced her words with a hint of danger and an edge of seriousness.

"By any means, huh?"

"That is correct. Enacting the self-destruct sequence was a means to try and prevent you from ever possessing the research."

"Even if it meant destroying what remained?"

"Yes. However, I would have preferred a way to preserve the files."

She's… serious about that. She would fully destroy the entire facility just to stop _us_, or any other person, from getting their hands on the research within these walls. It must have some serious weight of importance if that's the case.

A low guttural growl echoed through the night air, catching the attention of the three at the center of the ruined facility. It failed to spur the attention of the surrounding AIs, all of which remained locked on the two standing students.

_Half a mile._

"0.472 miles away. It appears they are getting closer." Karazil spoke, her visor never leaving Xera's direction.

_I was close! _"The explosion would've reached the ears of grimm for miles. Which could easily draw the ire of every beast in an eighty mile radius." Xera said, wondering if his plan was going to work.

"True, it is still difficult to determine the total calculation of grimm that will be approaching."

"Yeah, which begs the question… what will you do?" Xera asked, hoping Karazil will order her squadrons out for self-preservation and allow him and his own team to leave.

"A tactical retreat is logical… if I were to care for these units." The master AI said, a cold sting freezing her words and bringing a shiver of realization to the teens. She was entirely willing to watch them die, everyone for that matter.

"However…" Karazil continued, taking a step forward. Instinctively, Xera's wings curved inward and made to defend his front. The action caused the purple AK-130 to stop, but only for a moment.

"Cute, you see me as a threat." Her visor brightened, almost as if she were relishing in the response he supplied, "Know this, Huntsman. I am programmed to protect the research, and to do that I must destroy you. Your actions are not misplaced… they are simply useless against me."

Karazil raised her hand at her side. Immediately, the squadrons of Atlesian Knights behind her revved up their guns. Beyond them, each Spider Droid hammered their legs into the ground and then slammed their own barrels together to form massive singular canons.

The very same weapons charged up and used on the three teammates before.

"Tell me, what is your name? You have evaded my scans. I wish to know the identity of who accomplished such a task."

Willing his wings to stand down, Xera let their tips fall and settle against his back. Through the haze of smoldering rubble, he took a mental count of how many machine guns were trained on his position. Alongside those, maybe 40 robots, were three Spider Droids. Their lasers have charge up times… but will it really make a difference?

Could they fight their way out of this?

Could _half_ a team survive? Could they do so while protecting three unconscious people?

His gaze then turned downward after a subtle brush of something soft passed his leg. The kumiho still resided in his arms, he had just saved her. She was alive, breathing and happily restoring her energy… only to die in the end?

"My name…" She'll recognize it. It's in the records. There's no doubt she'll recognize his name, it was the turning point of all their research. He was the reason they were even capable of succeeding as continuously as they have.

Karazil raised her hand a little higher, prompting the Spider Droids to begin charging up their lasers. Three specks of light suddenly bathed the world in blue, slowly beginning the mass condensing of plasma and dust into a singular directional burst.

They were getting ready.

He glanced back, looking at Allix and his team over his shoulder. One eye trained on them and those that lay on the floor in unmoving slumber.

A resounding howl carried through the air, easily reaching Xera's ears over the sound of blazing fires and charging artilery.

_They're here…_

Dashing his glance to the side, the first of many vicious claws reached up and crunched down on a wall of stone. What followed that were two malicious eyes, bright red and lusting for blood.

Countless more appeared beyond the first.

Taking one of his wings, Xera supported the kumiho's legs as he reached into his pocket. The action didn't go unnoticed, seeing as Karazil flexed the mechanisms in her arm.

Yet… curiosity stopped her.

What could this boy possibly do against this kind of situation? This kind of enormous peril… what could he do?

"My name is Xera Stark, the last Alpha and the first Beta. I hold the final remnants of your precious files." He held up his scroll, flicking it in his hand as his eyes flashed dark green, "Your prime directive is to protect the research. This is the last of it. It is your very _existence_ to protect it, and you will safeguard it from these grimm."

His statement was firm, a resolve not many have witnessed, and none have ever been on the other side of. Xera was the leader of team XSRA, yes. However, he led with a subtle iron fist. He wasn't commanding, nor was he direct. It was always a system of requests, mutual agreements… trust.

A comradery of friends.

A family… which he's grown to realize has been quickly rebuilding since he joined Beacon.

"You expect me to believe you are Xera Stark? The very reason why this organization made its greatest breakthrough?" Karazil asked, her fingers twitching ever so slightly as her command urged her to end him.

Fire engulfed Xera's form. Flames rapidly lashing out at the air around him as his gaze became ignited, pupils smoldering gold like burning embers behind his dark bangs. "…yes."

A show of truth. It was the only way to convince her.

The sand at his feet soon shined over with a layer of glass, crackling and swirling to the heat of his dancing fire.

It was then that the first of the grimm reached them. A beowolf growled loudly and tore through a wall of fire, three more leapt in from different angles as they vaulted the Atlesian Knight walls and charged the teens.

Behind them, a storm of blood-curdling screeches and roars cluttered the air as black masses began tearing through the robots from behind.

"Very well." Karazil spoke, then closed her hand. Pulling it into a tight fist.

The four grimm that charged the teens were gunned down in the matter of moments, peppering the ground in black mist as every other AI turned and lashed out at the incoming onslaught of grimm. Countless blades were soon drawn by the robots, the frontlines tore into fur and flesh as the ones further back opened fire.

Xera let out a long breath, shutting off his limited flames as he drew his sword.

* * *

**Woo! Trinity Restore has the three most vital Aura Points involved on a huntsman's body, which means a more potent form of aura stimulated healing! I always like thinking of things that I believe are original…**

**At least… I think so.**

**Who knows, someone else out there probably thought of the same thing.**

**Oh well.**

**Welcome back to the land of the living, young kumiho.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	59. Fleeting Embers

**Karazil… hmm… I wonder what that name alludes to…**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 59: Fleeting Embers

**Third Person**

The AIs had moved inward and pushed together, creating a shield wall for them as they attacked the pitch black beasts.

"Can you pick up any vehicle signals in the area?" He asked, keeping his eyes roaming to watch for anything breaking through the lines.

"One. It is still eight miles out."

"Xera, we've got more ravagers in the sky." Allix spoke up, standing from her spot next to Skyla and Rex. Her gaze was turned upward, and soon Xera did the same.

Shadows were passing through the night sky, large ones circling the smoke billowing out of the facility.

"Do you think the fire could ward them off?" She asked further.

Xera shook his head, "They're used to the heat. Though, I doubt they've seen too much fire in their time."

One of the large scavengers screeched before diving downward, beak tearing at the air as it descended for some of the bots. Before it could so much as go any further though, the thundering sound of a piercing blast echoed across the sand dunes right before a beam of blue light disintegrated the massive grimm.

Nothing was left to even fall from the sky.

"They'll have to do a lot better than that!" Karazil laughed, looking to the sky as the two other Spider Droids melted two more avian grimm from the air above.

The crumbling of stone and rocking of the sands suddenly shook the ground, then the scatter of debris blew through the tension of the battle as a desert deathstalker smashed through the nearest fallen wall. Its entrance was followed by bone-armored rapitarus.

Ferocious raptors with void filled maws of teeth and spiked tails. White bone plates ran over each of their major muscle groups and legs, leading to terribly sharp claws that gripped the sands with startling ease.

A flood of these grimm swarmed in from the destroyed wall, all of them converging on the furthest Spider Droid to bring it down.

The invading deathstalker charged in after the smaller creatures and rammed the giant machine, forcing it to the ground before it was ruthlessly torn apart by countless sharp claws.

"That's a lot of grimm…" Xera said, watching as even more flooded in through the breach in the wall. Different assortments of beasts now littered the desert ground. The ones he could see were tearing and biting at the Atlesian Knights that still remained active. The ones that he couldn't were making enough noise to be heard for miles.

"117 and counting." Karazil responded to his remark.

"Xera, don't even think about referencing anything!" Allix called out from behind him, right as he opened his mouth too.

"Fair enough. This is bad though, one Spider Droid is already down." _If I remain here, the robots would be wiped out. Leaving just us against an onslaught of grimm. If I jump into the fight now… I'd be able to fight alongside our temporary allies._ Xera thought, soon making his way back over to Allix before resting the kumiho down in between his other two downed teammates. _It'll buy us the time we need…_

"I'm counting on you to protect the three of them." Xera said. It wasn't a question of her ability or an inquiry of her trust, it was a statement.

He needed her to protect them.

"Nothing will touch them." Allix responded firmly, drawing her bow.

"Good. I'll be back…" Xera said as he stood up, "…probably." It was an unsure fate. They were banking on the arrival of a distant, and previously damaged, aircraft. All they needed to do was survive the increasing mass of grimm flooding into the facility's grounds.

Piece of cake. Or, at least, that's what he wished this was. With his limiter implanted in his chest, he could only fight at a portion of his actual strength. It limited both his aura consumption and his affinity's exertion.

_Should I deactivate it? _Another glance was cast back to his team, and he slowly shook his head. _No. Not while they're within range. _He didn't know the true result of it, but he was sure it'd be catastrophic.

"If my friends die, I'll end myself then end the research." Xera said controversially, on purpose.

"How would you end yourself first-"

Karazil was interrupted by the swing of Xera's blade. The swift black edge swept through the air before his black wings extended to their full wingspan, "Protect them, please."

"You should not worry about their lives, I shall see it through that they survive this incursion."

Xera nodded his head, giving his thanks silently before surging upward with a gale of wind. The air tore downward, slamming into the ground from his departure. _I'm counting on you two. _His thoughts then switched to another frame of mind as he swooped into the fray.

He flipped forward, flourishing through his wings like a fluctuating black flame before slamming two feet into the head of a beowolf. The beast stumbled off the AI he was about to tear into, losing its balance almost entirely before a full swing of a blade severed its throat.

Xera kicked off and switched targets, sweeping into a group of rapitarus surrounding a second Spider Droid. He slashed at each one during his first pass, cutting a few of them down but the rest remained standing.

Pulling off a full mid-air stop, Xera shot back around and slammed into the ground, severing one grimm's head as he landed. The raptors around him growled viciously before lunging in with open maws, making a bite for the teen amidst their ranks.

Two more heads fell to the sandy ground just as Xera's form disappeared, revealing his true location between the two that now lay dead. "You guys should really rely on your noses more." Xera said, right before twirling his blade and slashing away the whipping tails of the two before him. "Although, I doubt you'd be able to smell me anyway."

Not with his Deception Semblance active.

After the next parry, a metallic _shing_ sounded through the air as he disconnected his longsword's halves in a fluid motion. The two swords bent again and their split hilts soon rotated back down to create his bladed guards.

Quickly, he threw his blades and sent them across the throats of the two rapitarus. The shining swords glistened in the fading starlight before returning to his hands, just in time for Xera to enter a combat roll.

Sand scattered as the place he once stood ruptured, the flash of a golden stinger soon plunged out of the sand as a deathstalker screeched behind him. _It took me a little while to kill one of these before… I don't have time for that._

Xera sprinted out of his crouch and slid beneath a wide sweep of a pincer. He passed beneath its cluster of eyes and dipped within its guard. Without missing a moment or letting the giant scorpion so much as move, Xera jammed the tip of one of his boomerangs deep into the beast's underbelly.

The flesh was tough, but with what he had in mind… that didn't matter.

Letting go of his blade, he let it remain lodged in the grimm as he continued his slide. He rolled out the back of the deathstalker and immediately took to the sky.

As soon as he was airborne, he lifted his right hand and called his boomerang back to it. His bracelet tugged forcefully downward as it glowed brightly, pulling him toward the beast as it began screeching in agony.

But before it could turn itself, Xera's buried blade tore downward. Splitting the grimm's entire underbelly before disconnecting from the wretched monster. Annivia's Talon dislodged itself at the end of the beast's body and slammed back into Xera's open palm.

The phoenix then turned away, moving onto this next target as the large grim beneath him writhed and collapsed to the ground in an angry struggle. _Now bleed out…_

Rapitarus leapt from structures and other grimm, attempting to claw him out of the air. But each one's leap was met with a dodge or a sudden change in speed, forcing them to fall back to Remnant.

"Xera!"

He heard Allix call his name, and immediately he flew a little higher and turned to see why. The robot wall was broken. The AIs that remained were scattered and forced to eject their swords, clashing head-on with beowolves and another deathstalker.

This one slightly bigger than the ones before.

_Another one? These things are common out here… _"I'm on it!" He called out, but instead of flying to their aid he sped higher into the air. His black clothes rendered him nearly invisible in the night around him. Higher, he lifted himself into the atmosphere of the cloudless desert sky, reaching record breaking speeds with ease as he swooped around the talons of deathly ravagers.

They were of no concern yet.

He managed to slice through one of their wings on his way up, but he couldn't afford to waste any more time. He climbed for the next few seconds, clearing cloud-level and going beyond it in the next two.

_Now. _All his speed, all his momentum, all of it was suddenly halted as he extended his wings and caught the air. His flying form came to a sudden and rapid stop before he took in a long intake of air…

…then launched himself back down.

As black as the night was, the shine from his glistening swords pierced the veil of darkness as he plummeted. He reached terminal velocity within half a second, tearing through the air as it bit harshly at his clothes.

Halfway down, he reconnected his swords.

* * *

"Xera?!" Allix called out, notching another arrow and firing it into the eye socket of a charging rapitaru. They were breaking through the lines more often now. Stragglers easily venturing in and making a run for easy prey.

She wouldn't let them have it.

She notched another arrow just in time to send it drilling into a beowolf's throat.

_Where is he?! _Her eyes scanned the battlefield, but he just… vanished. A horrid screech soon attacked her ears as she turned to see Karazil slide beneath a large pincer. The purple AI was just a recolored version of a normal AK-130. Yet, Karazil attacked with the fluidity and the skill of a true huntress.

"She's able to enter combat as well." Allix spoke to herself, watching as Karazil slashed at the beast's eyes before rolling backwards.

Her gaze tore away though as she broke her bow into melee form and blocked a set of claws. The leaping raptor forced her away, throwing the archer into a tumble before landing and taking a bite at her head.

Its action was met with the steel end of Allix's sword, stabbing straight through the top of its mouth and splitting through its head.

"We can't survive for much longer." Allix coughed, pushing herself to her feet and swiping the blood off her blade.

_How did this mission go so wrong? _It was a scouting mission. It wasn't supposed to get violent. Not only that, but the change in objective shouldn't have ended like this. They just had to retrieve information, that was it.

How were they supposed to plan for the entire facility blowing up?

They couldn't have foreseen that.

_And now..._ Allix reconnected then loosed off another rapid arrow, piercing it through the head of one rapitaru and jamming it into the beowolf it was next to. _Here we are… Two down, an addition that remains unconscious, an untrustworthy master AI, and a quickly falling squadron of Atlesian Knights._

Allix huffed at her odds before notching another arrow, but she quickly stepped to the side as a blur of purple bounced roughly against the sand.

Karazil's thrown body dug its robotic grip into the sand and grinded to a stop, soon throwing herself to her feet as she ran up to Allix's side.

"Deathstalkers are stronger than I had previously believed them to be."

"Well, you can't just run up, fight one for the first time, and win!" Allix said, sending her arrow forward and embedding it into one of the deathstalker's red eyes.

Yet, it still approached.

"My combat research was sufficient in collecting the necessary skills-"

"I get it! But you can learn on the spot as well." Allix retorted, reaching for another arrow…

…only to grasp at air.

_Huh? _She reached further, maybe they just rested at an awkward angle. With a jerked twist, she grasped at nothing. _No._ She was out.

Her crimson arrows were embedded into as many grimm as they could, but in the end they weren't enough.

"I'm out." She spoke quietly, turning her gaze hesitantly back to the deathstalker. A couple of brave Atlesian Knights leapt at it from the sides, swords raised, but one of them was pierced violently into the ground by the scorpion's tail.

The other was batted aside by its pincer.

"It appears to be angry." Karazil supplied.

"Well… they all do." Allix sighed, letting out a long breath.

She then split her bow back into its dual swords form, taking a low stance as she got ready to charge. Karazil did the same at her side, re-ejecting her purple blades as she glowed a brighter violet.

The approaching scorpion jabbed one of its legs into a crawling AI, shattering it across the sands as it glared at the two before it. Pincers snapped as it screeched again, turning upward to let it echo across the sands of the desert.

_Big mistake._ Allix thought as she dug her boot in and made to lunge forward, but her form was suddenly yanked backward by a cold hand.

As soon as she was pulled off her feet, a sudden black blur fell from the sky. It impacted the center of the scorpion's back, releasing a concussive wave of invisible force. The widely expanding gale threw sand and ruble through the air, scattering stones into clusters of grimm.

The initial destructive contact was followed by a sickening crunch. The entirety of the deathstalker's back crumpled inward as Xera's feet connected first, alongside his deeply plunging longsword. Cracks split the shell into pieces, each bony piece of armor then turned to dust as the rest of the overgrown insect all but exploded.

Countless pieces of hardened grimm fragments bounced across the sands as Xera stood back up, pulling his blade free from the ground. It had pierced through to the sand beneath the deathstalker.

"Anybody call for an airstrike?" He asked, eyes drifting upward in a cool blue.

"Please tell me you're not going to say witty lines every time you do something cool." Allix groaned, placing her face in her palm.

"I am confused, who called for an aerial strike?" Karazil asked, confusion placing a new tone into her vocal patterns.

Xera swiped his blade to the side before lashing outward in a flourish, tearing through a lunging beowolf's neck, "It was a metaphor." He said, letting the grimm drop dead as he rejoined his friends.

"What is a… metaphor?" The War-Mind asked.

"It's a play on words! Can we focus on the battle now?" Allix asked, holding her swords lazily at her sides.

The ever present growling and howling was still present, endlessly the bloodcurdling sounds still pierced the battlefield.

A wave of beowolves and rapitarus suddenly breached their small circle, causing the three defenders to break back into the action.

Xera dipped passed Allix, stabbing his weapon through the chest of a beowolf as she spun passed him and sliced apart another. The two teammates then entered a dance of awareness and precise strikes, sliding in and out of each other's guard as they continuously lashed out at the enclosing beasts.

Body after body dropped to the ground around them, each clawing mass of black falling to a fell sweep of either of their blades.

The two teens paid careful attention to maintaining position around their unconscious friends, keeping away the grimm that so ruthlessly attacked for an easy target.

Around the rim of black, Karazil danced. Hacking and slashing as the last remaining Atlesian Knights formed a dispersed circle around Xera and Allix.

Her purple then suddenly disappeared, the AK-130 she resided in taking over as she switched to another. A new purple bot switched tactics, spinning on its spot to decapitate and fatally wound a couple approaching grimm.

The color then faded and appeared on another AI at another side of the circle. Two spinning machine guns soon revved up and she leapt into the air, spinning rapidly in a rotating display of storming bullets.

As soon as she landed, she switched out again to another bot.

Each time she swapped, Karazil placed herself into the position of a bot in danger, keeping each of her remaining units alive to maintain their new defensive wall.

Never did she let a single AI take damage.

_She's fast. Her calculations… they have to be backed by a processor suited for a super computer. _Xera thought, his adversaries slowing down to a complete halt. They had cleared out the grimm within their small circle, the rest continued to push and fail against Karazil's offensive defense.

The master AI in question suddenly glowed a little brighter at her next swap, "Ten minutes estimated time of arrival for your ride!"

Xera nodded as he glanced upward, "Thanks, we're almost out of here! We just need to clear a landing zone!"

"How do you want to do that?" Allix asked.

"Two Spider Droids still remain active!" Karazil called out, her words coming in from different directions as she slipped in and out of the bots around them.

Beyond the circle, the two teens saw the last Spider Droids leaping from collapsed building to building. Each massive machine kept itself out of reach from the hordes of grimm below.

"I planned for them to take the high ground, but it appears we can use them for a different cause." She continued.

"Yeah, we'll need them. Can you position them at our one o'clock and seven o'clock?" Xera asked, an impromptu plan brewing. "And can they overcharge their lasers to last for at least five seconds?"

"Of course, it will deplete all their remaining ammunition though."

"That's fine, just do it."

Karazil nodded, understanding what Xera had in mind. It was a valid strategy, and would no doubt give them the clearing they needed for the bullhead's arrival.

Allix and Xera stayed within the circle of fading grim and fighting robots, waiting anxiously as the Spider Droids leapt over to their positions.

Two heavy _thunks_ sounded out as they dropped and planted themselves in their designated spots, immediately slamming their cannons together and beginning the charging sequence.

A couple beasts of grimm reached them, but the Spider Droids endured the clawing at their legs as they reached full power and beyond it.

"Don't look at the light." Xera said, patting Allix's head before breaking his sword into his model 1887's. He quickly flicked them up and loaded in orange laced rounds. He then pointed them into the air and fired.

At the moment of his triggers being pulled, the dense matter of energy and dust blindingly illuminating the desert compound combusted, shooting directly across either side of their small circle. An intense blue beam tore through stone, steel framework, and grimm. Burning and melting all that so much as came near the pulsing beams as they began turning outward; away from the allies.

The bright blue beams cleared out a massive area, going so far as to burn the corpses into wisps of black smoke as well. Up above, Xera's dual shotguns fired glowing orange scatter shots into the air. Each fragment trailed a neon yellow as they pierced through the air and began to ignite.

Scattered bullets soon blazed in the night air as they burned up and floated back down in slow burning flakes.

A perfect flare.

It wasn't long before they heard the gentle hum of engines echoing off the destroyed walls of the compound. A black silhouette passed through the sky from the distance as it sailed down and over the piles of rubble.

"Karazil, can your robots cover us?" Xera asked, firing off his modified dragon breath shells into the refilling hordes of grimm. Their opening wasn't going to last long.

Despite the several grimm burning profusely within the mess of black, it wasn't enough to keep them at bay.

"I will do what I can, though I request something in return."

"Name it."

"Your inquiry earlier, I was not able to give you my response." Karazil flickered over to one of the Spider Droids, lifting it out of its planted position and kicking away a few rapitarus, "I very much wish to live a longer life. Will you give me the opportunity to do so?"

Xera fired off another shot, smoking a beowolf in a haze of flames as he turned to see the bullhead landing, "Will morality be an issue?"

"I will be good, as some may say."

"Then deal, I'll unlock my scroll for you." Xera agreed, just as the bullhead touched down. He then slipped his wings back into his sweatshirt, hoping the tears in the back didn't show too much. Not a moment later did Lanza swoop down and tear his claws through a moving horde of grimm.

"How yah cuties holding up? I do hope none of you are hurt!" Professor Miralla called out. Her figure flipped off of Lanza as she passed them by and landed gracefully beside them, holding her cowboy hat to keep it from fluttering off.

"This mission took a turn for… crazy." Allix stated the obvious, before she quickly picked up Skyla.

Xera did the same with the kumiho, lifting her into his arms as he turned to bring the girl into the opening door of their ride.

"Hold up." Caza spoke suddenly, "…phoenix."

Internally, Xera cringed at that. Another professor now knew of his identity. Or, might know… would he be able to talk his way out of it? He glanced at her with a sideways look, regarding her with obscured eyes.

"If I were a phoenix, these grimm would've been wiped out an hour ago." His eyes didn't move, remaining in the shadow of his bangs as they shifted between his pallets of colors.

"I suppose they would be, but I've been paying special attention to you on this mission." Caza took a step forward, paying no mind to the grimm making lunges for her. The attacking beasts were either torn out of the air by her nevermore or smashed away by one of Karazil's powerful mechanical legs.

"I'm just a little suspicious, and very much intrigued by you." She rested a hand under his chin, tilting it up as she leaned in ever so slightly. With a shake of her own head, she got some of her dark blue hair out of her eyes as she gazed into Xera's.

_Must… keep… emotions… in… check! _It was all for not, his eyes were frantically flashing between orange and an assortment of other colors with how uncomfortable he felt. _You're too close._

The beautiful woman smirked, soon letting go of her gentle hold and turned away, "Get out of here, I'll cover our escape."

In a flash, the tails of her black trench coat fluttered outward as she drew Serenity. 8 inches of glistening metal in the form of a 12 o'clock barrel elegantly connected to her custom wooden grip, spanning out in a dramatic flourish before kicking up with a loud bang.

A .44 caliber bullet pierced the eye of a distant rapitaru and blew a chunk out of its armored skull.

"Don't worry, I'll… keep your little secret." She called back with an elegant and light chuckle, before dipping out of the clawed strike of a beowolf. The beast received a deathly slash across its chest.

Its entire form then eroded away.

Whether or not Xera trusted her words didn't matter, they were pressing for time as it was. So he made up his tardiness by going back and lifting Rex with his wings; similar to what he did before.

Then he carried both unconscious bodies up the metal slope and into the depths of the bullhead, "Help me strap them in."

He said, looking to his side to see his archer finishing up strapping Skyla in. She moved over and he placed Rex in one of the chairs, then rested the fox-yōkai into another free one.

"Do you think our professor can take on this many grimm?" She asked as she buckled her partner in.

"Maybe, her potential is great. I can tell that much. But clearing out this many grimm in such a short amount of time isn't the idea. She's just buying us time." _Speaking of which. _He quickly made his way over and manually shut the doors. "Take us up!"

The intercom buzzed on right as the ship began lifting back into the air, "Welcome back, kiddos. Glad to see you're all fine… for the most part."

"Thanks for the concern, but just get us out of here." Allix called back, taking her own seat.

Xera remained standing, "There may be some more ravagers. Can you evade them?"

"I can try kid. You're speaking to the best bullhead pilot at Beacon Academy, I usually have no problem with that. Unfortunately, the sneak attack from before caused some severe damage." The entire bullhead shook, a combustion noise thumping through the wall at their right, "So mobility is shot."

_So long as we don't run into too many then, we should be fine. _Xera thought, keeping a firm hold of a handle on the wall as he looked out the window. His eyes tracked a couple shadows flying by, but it was difficult to tell how many.

"Hold on! I'll see what I can do to shake them!"

The intercom's feed then cut off as the entire bullhead jerked to the side. Evasive maneuver after maneuver, the pilot deftly took them through loops and turns in hopes of evading the winged vultures trying to tear into their hull again.

Counting his bogies, the man behind the stick noted 11 shadows hot on his tail. "Shit." He cursed, yanking the controls to the side again as he narrowly angled himself away from the shining claws of a ravager.

"I can't get anywhere with these guys swarming like this." He mumbled, flipping switches across the panels at his disposal and rerouting fuel. One of his burning engines was about to give out, he needed to keep the rest strong enough to keep them in the air.

The flock of scavengers seemed like they were everywhere, diving in from every possible direction to keep the bullhead circling around the facility from above.

It was on their third pass that one bird finally got lucky, scraping its sharp talons deeply across one of the vehicles wings. The sudden tearing of metal was followed by the whole ship tilting to the side, and in this moment…

…another struck.

From the opposite end, a ravager dipped in and jammed its talons straight through the body of the aircraft. Crunching the metal between its claws, it flapped its wings violently to hold it in place.

"We've been immobilized!" The pilot yelled into the intercom, trying to dislodge the aircraft from the bird's grasp. They were sitting ducks now.

The rest of the avian grimm took note of this, and one of the circling vultures turned down and made a dive for the ship.

Right before it struck though, a blur of black glided in and tore into it, "Hands off the merchandise ugly, no need to get touchy!" Caza yelled, firing a shot directly into the ravager's eye and blowing its brains out.

Her assault didn't go unchallenged though, immediately three other giant vultures deviated and lunged for her, forcing Lanza into his own evasive movements.

Six still circled the unmoving ship.

Xera stumbled across the airship's body and made his way to the door, "This isn't looking good."

"Xera, what are you going to do against six fully grown ravagers?!" Allix asked in a panic, unbuckling herself from her seat and standing.

"Sit back down, Allix." Xera said quickly, motioning her back down. "I… I have to do something."

"Like what?" The archer disobeyed Xera's order and moved toward her leader, "There's too many! You'll get hurt. Or worse…"

"I'm the only one here who can do anything about it." He retorted.

Both of them suddenly lurched to the side as the entire ship sunk ten feet, a second ravager now tore ruthlessly at the top of the aircraft.

"Allix, if the world froze over and you had the only loaded gun that could break the ice, would you take the shot? Even if it could end in your own demise?" Xera asked.

Allix pouted before smacking Xera's arm, "You know full well I would. That doesn't mean-"

"I'm going to draw them away." Xera cut in, moving to the door and popping the cap off the button residing on the wall.

The manual override.

"How fast can you fly?" Allix sighed, resting her head in her hand as she shook it. She'll relent… for now.

"Phoenix's were regarded as the fastest flyers in history. I'll manage."

She couldn't believe she was letting her leader risk his life for theirs… again, "F-fine, just… make it back. I don't want to lose another person in my life…"

"Don't worry." Xera smiled, flashing her a genuine look over his shoulder as he lifted his fist, "I'll be fine. Besides… it's been a while since I've done what I'm about to do."

His words spiked Allix's next question, "What do you mean?"

With a silent smirk, Xera smashed his fist into the button on the wall. The lights in the chamber suddenly switched to green and a sliver of a faint orange glow cracked open. Behind him, wind tore into the body of the airship as the line of light slowly opened to reveal the night ridden desert below.

As his black sweatshirt whipped frantically against his body, he pulled his fist off the wall and walked out to the end of the ramp.

"X-xera! What did you mean by that?!" Allix yelled out, holding onto the nearest handle by the manual override switch. She needed to know…

Xera glanced over his shoulder before turning around, "Get our friends home, Allix. Get them somewhere safe, and get them the help they need. This is just something I haven't decided to do… in five years." He said, eyes swirling into a cool blue as his pupils blazed with flickering fire…

Then he leaned back.

Gravity took hold of him immediately and pulled him downward, freely releasing him from the stable ground of the bullhead's exit ramp and entering him into a dark freefall.

He drew his swords not a moment later, spinning their slim models in his hands to snap them into shotgun forms.

Primed and loaded, he fired off shot after shot of his dragon breath rounds. Each scatter of scorching bursts blanketed the large birds in the night sky.

Feathery bodies began so ignite as the one holding the bullhead in placed screeched in pain, kicking away from its prey and turning to find the one that harmed it. It squawked violently in the air as it saw Xera falling downward.

Two more black wings added into the mix as Xera spanned his own appendages out, turning and soaring back into the air as he fired more rounds at the attacking ravagers. Four burned brightly in the cool night air now, blazing in the reflection of Xera's eyes as he fired his last two shots to catch the final vultures.

_Got them, now get out of here guys! Leave! _Xera thought as he dashed to the side, avoiding a vicious and angry swoop of a flaming bird. He then slammed his swords back together, returning his weapons into Excalibur mode before attaching it to his magnetic panel.

As he dipped downward then flew higher in a wide loop, the bullhead took off. He watched as Allix stared at him, her expression taking a turn for the worried as the ship got further and further out.

* * *

Allix stumbled on her feet, holding onto the handle and gazing out into the night. Caza suddenly flew up to the open chamber, stepping across Lanza's outstretched wing and boarding the vessel midair.

"Glad to see you were able to make it out of that flock." She said, placing her hand affectionately atop Allix's head as she made her way further into the bullhead. "Where's Xera?"

"H-he-" Allix's eyes still watched the swirling shadows in the distance, each blur of black circling each other above the ominously glowing blaze of the facility below. "He was able to get their attention… for us to leave."

Dark blue eyes traced backward as the woman tilted her hat up, "I see."

The intercom suddenly turned on and the pilot spoke once again, "Kids, we've just passed into the range of an outer scroll tower. Someone wants to contact you."

His voice then split off as a new voice took over, "How did the mission go?"

It was Glynda. She had… no idea what just went down…

"Glyn? Is that you?~" Caza suddenly gushed, turning her gaze up as she leaned against the bullhead wall.

"M-miss Miralla, that is no way to speak to your superior!" Glynda responded, her composure only slipping for a moment.

"Awe, don't be like that honey. You know… my offer still stands." Their professor spoke with a hidden sultry grin, tilting her hat down over her face.

"A-as I said before, it is out of the question. Now, why is Mr. Stark's scroll still out of range?" Glynda asked instead.

Allix was having trouble looking away from her leader, but reluctantly… she blinked and turned it elsewhere, "H-he left himself behind."

Silence fell upon the bullhead again, before Glynda's voice came back in a worried tone, "Why?"

"To buy us time to get out of there. H-he said… he said he was going to do something he hasn't done in five years." _If that means anything… _Allix informed, placing herself in one of the end seats as she drifted her gaze to the floor.

Another silence set a tense pause over the conscious people in the airship, no one knowing exactly what to say. But after half a minute passed, the intercom statically flicked before Glynda's voice echoed once again in the silent walls of the vessel.

"Get out of there."

Allix suddenly looked up in confusion, "You know what's going on?"

"Just get out of there, who is your pilot?"

"I am ma'am, Ace Azil."

"Well, Mr. Azil. We'll pay you double what you make currently if you get those students out of that area as fast as you can. Cast away all safety precautions, just get them out of there."

"Y-yes ma'am." Ace responded, an immediate boost to speed broke their current cruise and lurched the ship forward.

"What's going on?! I don't understand!" Allix called out again, but the intercom soon shut off and left her question unanswered. _What's going to happen to Xera? _Her gaze switched back to stare out into the starry night, searching the air above Facility Krono for her leader.

* * *

Xera took off in a straight vertical line, spinning rapidly as the ravagers around him scurried after his form. Their hulking bodies colliding into each other as they snapped at Xera's ascending form.

_Too slow._ He inwardly laughed as he surged upward even faster, leaving the grimm behind him in the dust before stopping his propulsion.

His eyes could no longer see the bullhead in the distance… they were far enough away.

As gravity took hold of him once again, he reached the apex of his ascent then fell back down. Black figures scattered out then converged on him… only for his wings to suddenly flap and shoot him downward in a burst of speed.

Xera's body burst out of the mass of ravagers and plummeted back down to Remnant, his wings narrowing inward to increase his speed as he let his emotions flow again.

His entrancing eyes began swirling through their colors, flashing sequences of each of his emotion driven irises as his pupils blazed to life.

Streaks of gold trailed in the wake of his gaze before he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he focused his aura. He fed his energy through his system then recycled it, repeating the action before he focused solely on the mechanical device surgically implanted next to his heart.

He could feel the aura grasping it, bathing it in his fiery energy before he crushed the small object within him.

His limiter, the only thing that's been holding him back all these years, the safeguard placed within him in hopes of keeping his dangerous affinity under control…

…was finally removed.

The world approached him from below, his body rotating slowly as his wings split the air. Terminal velocity had long since been reached, and from a distance away Xera fell toward the blazing inferno of the compound below.

Its burning flames suddenly began to distort, each raging glow lashed out violently before swirling together into hundreds of streams of scorching light.

The heated fires were pulled upward as if they were burning tendrils. Orange and red streaks swirled into the sky above as they all trickled toward Xera's falling form.

All the dancing lights converged on him, emblazing him in a shining new light.

Dark skies and blackened sands glowed faintly from a new hue of orange, the glow getting strong as the rest of the fire was transferred into the air. All of it was absorbed and further fueled Xera's affinity.

As the last trickle of fire entered his aura, his long since backed up reserve fire became active. An overwhelming surge of heat and energy, an immense culmination that's been building up for five years, began to push out of his form in violent fluctuations.

Ignited, Xera blocked out the sounds of the still hording grimm below and let his emotions unlock the walls in the way of his affinity. All the internal defenses he's been building slowly burned away, letting more and more of his pent-up fire grow madly around him as he dipped lower than the facility's ruined walls.

* * *

The speck of orange dipped out of sight, landing amongst a sea of bloodthirsty grimm. Its light that it bathed across the vast reaches of the Krono Desert vanished, engulfed now by an ocean of black and darkness.

Then… a new light shined through the veil of lurking shadows.

A bright burst of gold, streaking blindingly across the sand dunes and into the night.

It glowed ethereally before turning upward and piercing the cloudless sky, reaching into the heavens before growing brighter.

The golden hue of energy then blazed into an orange column, shining ever brighter before fading back down into the facility below.

…and as soon as the light receded, all sounds ceased.

The night air halted in its place, nature itself held its breath as the world seemed to stop turning. Stars refused to wink as silent ash billowed slowly into the air. Darkness creeped into the edges of the world, fading it momentarily before everything was wiped away.

An inferno erupted from the ruins.

Blackness was overwhelmed by the searing power of an expanding vortex of fire. A molten sea beyond recognition coursed over the cold lands and into the boundless reaches of the sky, burning and scorching the world as it expanded further.

Waves of pure flame scattered, racing through the air in combustive furies as an explosive shockwave burst from the center of the rising flames.

A wave of pure force drug walls of sand and stone outward into obliteration, throwing flame and fire out of the way as it tore outward across the vast reaches of the biome.

The concussive blast volleyed fire further into the sky, pluming the immense sea of bright orange flames into an ever expanding storm of a living, breathing, vortex of hell's wrath.

In the distance, a bullhead shook violently as it glowed brightly under the immense ball of fire. The atomic explosion shined brightly at the center of the desert, blazing brilliantly as it slowly flowed into the night air.

A Phoenix's soul, locked away by forbidden chains, that burned brighter than any sun that bathed the world in heaven's light… was finally released.

* * *

**Wow! Okay! That was dramatic… very dramatic… meh, I thought it was pretty cool. Xera smashed a button to save his team! That was all I wanted to accomplish XD. And by that, I mean it was intensely AWESOME! In my opinion anyway. So yeah, five years of Xera's aura generating fire deep within his body should have created quite the backup of energy.**

**And now he's just opened the floodgates.**

**Woo!**

**Fun!**

**Moving on!**

**I hope you all liked this. This is the conclusion to the Krono Facility arc, however now Xera's left behind! Oh no! Whatever shall we do?!**

**You can find out… you know… by reading the next chapter.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**

**oooOOO - ****Announcement**** \- OOOooo**

**P.S: I have officially reworked the first 10 chapters! Yeah, they match Xera and Skyla's characters better now. Also, completely rewrote the fight with team CRDL as well. So, if you're curious… go check out those changes.**

**These were made on March 3****rd****, of 2016. So, if you have already read those before these changes were done… I suggest going back and rereading them. If you want.**

**If you're wondering if these changes severely affect the story… no, they do not. I only changed Xera's personality to better match how he acts now and how I act as well. If I were to recommend one thing though, I'd reread chapter 10. I basically rewrote that one. The entire mood is different now, and I hated how I depicted Velvet before.**

**So that's been completely changed. The fight as well. Chapter 10 would be the one to read if you decide to go back.**

**The rest still went through changes, but that one was the major buff.**


	60. Cavalry for the Stranded

**oooOOO - ****Announcement**** \- OOOooo**

**DEATH BATTLE! For those of you that don't know what this is, well… you should probably look it up on youtube because of its sheer force of entertaining awesomeness. Now, these two authors are putting together a rwby-verse centered Death Battle story. A world where OC's from everywhere gather together to battle it out in matched encounters to see who'll come out on top.**

**This is a thing… and Xera will be taking part in it! A story called '****RWBY- Battles Between Two****' will be showcasing my OC in a battle to the death against someone else's OC! Which, in all honesty, is very humbling and awesome. Now, for those of you that don't know me, I do **_**not**_** get excited about **_**anything**_**. Very little impresses me lately in life, or online. That's the truth… seriously… no lie.**

**So… I can't wait to see what happens. Wanna know why? Because I'm excited. It happens every time someone uses an OC of mine. I can't wait to see what they'll be able to do with the character and the abilities/weapons he possesses that I spent so long developing. So yeah! The death battle is written by two people named Sora and Meteor, the story itself is under the writer's name '****MeteoriteCreature****'.**

**I look forward to seeing what they can do. And if you're interested to see what happens, check them out as well. I'd like to know if my guy can beat whoever the opponent may be. Either way, it'll be fun to read.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 60: Cavalry for the Stranded

**Third Person**

With her cheek in the palm of her hand, and her elbow resting leisurely on the vast desk, Blake's amber eyes lay still as she sat in her Grimm Studies class. Despite Professor Port's efforts to cause eye strain in his students with his glorious image and boisterous hand motions, she merely just tuned an ear in and let her other senses drift.

No twitches flicked through her bow, despite her cat-ears acutely focused on directing their own attention toward the man's voice.

Their subtle movements went unnoticed by all, as usual. Though, her unfocused and distant gaze did not have the same effect.

"Sheesh, stop moping so much." Her partner chastised in a hushed tone, a small shift in movement sounding out as Yang leaned back in her seat.

"I'm not moping."

"Spacing out counts as moping."

Blake rolled her eyes, then switched her arms to lean a new cheek into her hand to give her partner her spared attention, "In what world does spacing out count as moping?"

Yang herself rested her hands behind her head as she turned her lilac gaze upward, "This one?"

"Are you asking yourself or me?"

The blond shrugged before dipping her eyes back into amber, "Doesn't matter, my partner's still moping around because her boyfriend is off on a mission and is late to come back."

"It's been a day and a half, Yang. He said it was just recon…"

"Recon can take a while." Yang offered.

"Yeah, but what if something went wrong?"

There was a very subtle huff from Blake's left, and soon after her white accentuated teammate let out a small sigh. Despite Weiss's efforts to pay attention to the subject being taught, she couldn't help but split that to listen in on Blake's conversation as well.

"Even if something _did _go wrong, I doubt they'd do anything reckless." The heiress supplied. Even though her attention was halved, she was still diligently taking notes off to the side.

"Ehh… Skyla might… and maybe Rex too… and possibly Xera…" Ruby's voice piped up, her own face squished into the palm of her hand.

"Yeah, pretty sure Allix is the only one who _wouldn't_ do that." Yang agreed with her sister.

Blake's thoughts were still uneased as she tilted her chin down, "Didn't Professor Miralla go with them?"

"Yes. A substitute has taken her place for now, though her reputation is… less than reputable." Weiss said.

"By that, she means that Professor Miralla is probably the most reckless of the bunch here." Yang added.

"Even so, she's more than capable of looking after a team." Blake said, trying to solidify a reason not to worry the day away, "They all are…"

"Blake, I'm more than sure Xera and his team can beat most adversaries they come across." Ruby whispered past Weiss.

The cat-faunus bit her lip, her eyes drifting into another set of uncertain gleams, "Do you remember their first camp-out as a team?"

Ruby and Yang both flinched at this in remembrance, even Weiss nearly faltered in the strides she was making with her pencil.

"…right." Yang mentioned with an unconfident breath.

"L-let's… let's not focus on that." Said Ruby, her voice failing her for a moment, "I mean, they've learned from that right?"

"You never know with them…" Weiss answered, "But… if I've learned one thing." For this moment, and only this moment, she set her pencil down. "Xera does a lot of things for the sake of getting something out of it. I mean, I've never lost an argument before… not until he showed up…"

"Weiss, what does that have to do with-"

"Seriously! I've never lost… ever…" Weiss's fist clenched as her eyes narrowed.

"Still, what does that-"

Weiss cut the speaker off yet again as she breathed out exasperatedly, her narrowed gaze disappearing, "What I'm saying is, he knows how to counter a lot of scenarios. I'm sure, even if their mission went south, he'll figure something out."

Blake then watched as Weiss picked her pencil back up and resumed her note taking, though her deft and elegant scribbles were slightly slower than before.

With that, her eyes turned back to Port just in time to see him laugh loudly before moving back to his desk, "Now then! Who here can tell me the class ranking of most grimm species?"

The vague question left the class in silence, even Weiss's hand didn't instinctively shoot skyward in confidence, eventually though… hers was the only one to rise.

"Excuse me, sir, could you clarify your question?" She asked with an innocent tone.

"Of course!" Port declared as he slammed his hand onto his desk, leaving it to jump from impact as he smacked a large picture of an Alpha Ursa with a pointing stick, "This here is an Alpha. A certain evolution grimm can reach given time and their surroundings. Now, of course, this isn't the only theorized state a grimm can reach. Ursa for example can amble around as just simply a low classed grimm, but we all know exactly what they have the potential to become. We've taken the initiative to classify these evolutions… now, does anyone know what these classifications are?"

His hidden eyes drifted over the students in their seats, his eyebrows taking a moment to lift subtly at Weiss's silence before moving on.

"Well! You'll all know today then." With another smack, Port walked over to the center of the wall and yanked down a rolled up piece of paper stationed above the board. On it were evolutions of the most commonly known grimm in the area.

"By now, you've all most certainly had your fair share of run-ins with Minor grimm. These are your average beasts roaming about and are likely the youngest of the species." He displayed the start of each evolution series, each picture depicting an Ursa or Beowolf in the image of what you'd see out in the emerald forest.

Those were the normal looking ones to the teens, though… as some gazes drifted through the lineup of evolutions… each species had a drastic change in appearance, size, and ability.

"The next one up, obviously, are the Majors. These are bulkier and a little more rare than the minors. These fellows are usually just slightly more armored and experienced than the average joe. But, they fall short of the leaders. Those beasties are known as the Alphas." Port explained as he transitioned through the images.

"Most of you have seen one or two Alphas in your young days. These are much more armored and have been around for quite a while, long enough so as to start leading packs if necessary. We've found this behavior prominent in both Ursa and Beowolves." With another glance though, Blake noticed Port was only half-way.

"Keep in mind students that these next two classes are theorized and have not been proven to date."

"Sir, if they haven't been proven then why do we have them listed?" Jaune asked out with a quick raise of the hand.

"Ah, mister Arc. Very good question. Why? You ask? Well!" Port turned around to address the class, "That, my brave students, is because no one has seen one and survived the encounter!"

Jaune's hand fell like a stone back to his lap.

"However, there have been stories of experienced huntsmen and huntresses coming across such adversaries. Of course, it is quite difficult to believe such tales with little evidence of the encounter." Port explained before turning back around, letting some mumbling amongst the students die down before resuming.

"Now, beyond the Alpha class is a class that, in theory, is both ancient and powerful. These creatures are likely out there beyond our walls and borders, lying in wait in places we dare not go. These… are the Dremoha class." He decided to let that sink in before leaning against his desk, "I don't have any images to show you for these creatures, just know that they have immense aptitude to destroy. The gap between the Alpha and the Dremoha is vast and greater than most minds can comprehend, so if you ever come across one… dare not cross paths with it."

Port crossed his arms as he left the class in baited silence. Most of the students were left stunned into voiceless thoughts and some amused by these supposed 'powerful' grimm. Of course though… there was one left.

"Now, the last tier for grimm classifications listed is beyond any of our understandings. Even the most experienced of us cannot explain the prowess of this final class, all we can do is try to warn you to never engage one of these entities. It'll likely result in not only your own downfall, but the destruction of a kingdom as well." Port's voice trailed off, his tone almost sounding somber before he let his gruff hands grip the edge of his desk in preparation.

"Most of you will take notice that, usually, an Alpha is the highest leader of a pack. In terms of wolves, this is the case. However, I can't stress this enough… there is nothing more deadly than what I am about to tell you." With a deep, mustache fluttering breath, Peter Port's grip tightened before releasing completely, "The last class… is the Omega."

With that said, most students made the immediate assumptions of what he had just mentioned prior to the classification. In terms of wolves, usually an Omega is a follower of the Alpha. And in most other cases, that'd be how the system worked.

However…

"An Alpha states the beginning of creation. It symbolizes the start or the origin of most things, and proves itself to be where most concepts begin. This final class is quite the opposite. The Omega… symbolizes the _end_. The end of existence, the end of life, the end of time itself… we do not know. What we _do_ know is that they're out there… the Lost Kingdom of Kerillor is devastating proof of this." His gaze soon turned back to his students, and after a minute of a vast difference of stares, Weiss's hand rose up.

"Sir, I thought Kerillor fell to a natural disaster." The heiress inquired, her assumption of the fallen southern kingdom getting nods from most of her peers.

"I learned that Kerillor's destruction was at the hands of a cataclysmic earthquake." Pyrrha spoke up, turning her gaze over to Weiss.

"I thought it was a volcano." Ren added.

Their comments unleashed other opinions on the matter throughout the classroom, everyone else having somehow learned it from other sources in their own lives.

"The Lost Kingdom of Kerillor is a controversial subject indeed!" Port bellowed out, silencing his students before waving a dismissive hand through the air, "Stories have passed down through the generations, I'm sure. However, this was all an attempt to conceal the truth from you."

His words, again, settled the class in a tense silence.

"You see, it's entirely possible that a volcano did erupt. Or an earthquake shook it into the ground. Or, as some of you had also mentioned, it was a volatile storm that shook the seas into tsunami sized waves." Port listed off as he kicked one foot over the other, crossing his ankles as he leaned against his teacher's desk.

"You would _all_ be correct. All of those did happen… but not by the whim of nature. Oh no… not by the whim of anything like that at all. This was done by, what we fear may still be out there, an Omega class grimm." He finished in a serious tone, one that was rarely ever used inside his boisterous persona.

Whether the students believed him or not, it did not matter. Port left the class in a veil of silence as he let the final few minutes of it tick away.

He needed to let this sink in. And before the eight minute mark struck, the bell rang and the class ended without a noise.

* * *

A dry, muffled, cracking sound surrounded him. It was hollow, like the crackling of ice sitting atop a frozen pond… only, it felt warm beneath his fingers. Darkness still consumed his mind, rendering his eyes still closed as he rolled over onto his side.

Flickers of flame drifted into the air as he lay there, drifting through the waves of darkness before gaining consciousness.

Heavy eyes tried to pull open, trying their best to take in the world around, only to close again.

Rolling himself onto his stomach, Xera managed to strain his arms enough to plant his palms against the hard surface beneath him. A groan soon left him in an exhausted breath before he pushed himself upward, forcing his legs to take a stand.

_What the… _The ground beneath his feet cracked quietly and felt oddly solid for a desert. He covered his eyes with his hands, rubbing out whatever drowsiness that cursed them then ran his hand through his hair.

Shaking it all away, he opened his eyes to the dark morning air of the Krono Desert.

The sun was just peaking over the horizon, just enough so to add a subtle light into his current world of sand.

Though, he quickly looked down and noticed… he wasn't surrounded by sand.

"Whoa…" All around him, the surface of the sand shined in an ethereal glimmer. Inches of colorful glass armored the soft sands of his surroundings, reflecting the slight morning light as if it were a sunrise itself across reaches he couldn't even see.

_How far does it go? _Across the glassy sand dunes and flowing hills, he couldn't see where the glass ended. In fact, the facility that used to surround him wasn't there either.

It was entirely incinerated. And the heat of the fire, he assumed, also turned the surface of the sand into a molten layer of glass that hardened overnight.

"Well, at least the grimm are gone." Xera spoke into the sky, rolling his shoulders a few times before grimacing. A sharp pain tore through his spine and pulled tightly at his wings, forcing him to collapse to his knees.

The muscles throughout his feathery appendages screamed in agony, forcing his teeth to grind together as he closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, the pain passed.

"G-great… now I can't fly…" He said in a breathless voice. Then, with as much care in the world, he spent the next twenty minutes gently curling and wrapping his currently delicate wings around his upper body and beneath his arms… keeping them inside his slightly torn sweatshirt.

The black piece of clothing was still intact, much like the rest of his clothing, despite the overwhelming surge of heat that pulsed over them. An old technique of dust sewing helped keep his clothes fireproof after all, though the quality of that must have been pretty good to withstand something short of a nuclear explosion.

One made entirely of fire.

Now that his wings were tucked away, Xera stumbled to his feet and started walking. He put the sun ahead of him, since it always rises in the east, and started walking across the field of glass in the direction of Vale.

The desert was fairly close to Vacuo, hopefully no one saw what went down at the Krono Facility.

One could only hope anyway.

Even if they did see though, nothing was left behind but a massive layer of glass. So, little will be known if anything was ever investigated.

"That was _way_ more powerful than I thought it'd be…" Xera sighed as he checked his pockets, sifting around through each one and checking his current equipment.

As he thought, his canteen was completely vaporized. Whatever water he once had was gone now. Sifting around some more, he noticed most of his bullets welded into clumps of useless metal due to the heat, and his scroll was a scorched piece of utility.

It was completely destroyed, but it was beyond working again without replacement or a major overhaul.

"Guess that fire dust I added to the metal wasn't enough." Xera noted, realizing his scroll was of no more use. He'd have to fix that… and come up with a better solution than fire dust.

At least it left his memory units intact, which means all the info he gathered wasn't lost.

It also meant Karazil was basically in stasis right now within his scroll.

There was… one more thing though.

His fingers grazed over a small crystal in one of his pockets, thumb brushing over the intricate detailing across its surface as he realized what it was.

* * *

**(**_The night before Xera's mission to the Krono Desert, Chapter 53: Ravagers_**)**

"Master, why do you believe Xera Stark survived the four bullets to his chest?" A girl with near shoulder-length short snow white hair asked, her pace matching that of the one who walked next to her.

"What makes you think he's dead?" The slightly taller teen responded, his dark blue eyes meeting the blood-red irises of the girl.

The girl in question had a slightly pale skin tone. She wore a sleeveless, white, collared shirt with a zipper pulled all the way down to the center of her more than average chest. Beneath that, she wore a sleeveless black top underneath.

Detached white sleeves reached slightly above her elbows with skin tight black sleeves beneath, as well as a black sash around her waist. The ends of it hung down from her right side.

"It appeared that those bullets pierced his heart… most of them anyway." She muttered, her voice quiet in the empty and dark halls of Beacon Academy.

Subconsciously, she gripped the black skirt she wore, white patterns splayed across the cloth that reached her mid-thighs.

"Did they really? I mean, it _looked_ that way… but… didn't you feel something off about all that?" The guy asked.

To be honest, she did feel something off as well, "What about the blood?" She asked further. Her white shoes with black laces, and black soles, padded across the floor in silence beside her master's. Above those were her white thigh high socks, each with black bands, and behind her… a single white fox tail swayed in her wake.

Two white fox ears flicked subtly atop her equally white hair as she waited for her master's comment to her question.

"I'll admit, that part was pretty convincing. If I was certain it was an illusion, maybe I could've seen through it at the time if it truly was one." The equally white haired boy replied to his sixteen year old partner, taking his hands out of his grey jeans pockets.

His own black running shoes padded across the silent corridor, their white soles revealed momentarily with each step. "I just…can't shake the feeling it was faked…"

"Master, if you-"

"Seriously now, I know you don't like calling me Dante, but we're still _sorta_ in public so…" Dante trailed off…

"I agreed to only call you Dante amongst your friends… we are currently not in our universe."

Dante gave his partner a deadpanned expression before sighing, "Fine… but the second we come across a friend I made here, then you call me by name."

"Yes, master."

"Aaaanyway…" Dante brushed his hands on the sides of his white button up coat, the tails of it reached halfway down the back of his calves and the coat's design displayed black trim patterns throughout its material. The buttons, as well, were black.

Beneath that was his usual grey sleeveless collared shirt, zipped up to the center of his chest beneath the buttoned front of his coat, "Just think about it for a second. You probably sensed this, since I did, that there was a sudden spike of aura at the time of the shooting."

"I did sense that, but it may have just been a defensive mechanism kicking in just before the point of impact. Aura has always been a mysterious and unexplained concept, it could have reacted to the fatal attack."

"True, unless of course there was a semblance being involved!"

"You are truly an ace detective, master…"

"When did you pick up sarcasm?" Dante exclaimed in an equally sarcastic voice, getting both an eye-roll and a giggle from the fox-yōkai walking beside him.

"In any case, I bet he's alive somewhere. And since I spent a bit of time with him recently, I think I know where he'd be in a case of staying dead."

"Where would that be?"

As soon as Inuba asked that question, the two came face to face with large metal doors. They seemed pristine on the outside, but any Beacon-goer would know the scorch marks that riddled its surface on the inside.

"The forge room of course." Dante stated before pushing on the doors.

"Locked?"

"It would seem so." Said Dante, though his ears, as well as Inubas, picked up the identifiable sound of a blazing furnace.

"It's definitely in use." Inuba commented as she walked up to the locked door, "Will your scroll and hacked credentials allow us entry?"

"Never know until you try." Dante replied as he stepped up, scroll soon in hand before swiping it over the scanner. It flashed red, denying him entry.

"Not enough clearance?" Inuba inquired.

"No…" Dante read the message that flashed right before the red faded away, "It appears that this room has been locked by an administrator. No one can enter without a direct override from the headmaster himself. I'd hack it myself right now, but it'd take too much time."

"It's unnatural to see such a room locked by an administrator. Has your headmaster ever done something like this in our own universe?"

"Once… but it was to the school's massive pantry. Apparently, someone got to his coffee."

Inuba giggled again to this comment, but had to quirk an eyebrow at the odd reasoning.

"I'm serious! Within the day, he moved all of it to a secret expansion right below his office. Now, he's got immediate access to his coffee without it being in reach of anyone but himself and a select set of professors!"

With a few more laughs shared, Inuba stepped back and looked around for a potential air duct, "If what you say is true, then it's likely whoever's in there is an important figure that doesn't want to be interrupted."

"All the more reason to interrupt them." Dante said, joining his partner in search of an air duct, "From my memory of Beacon's blueprints, there are quite a few air ducts that run in and out of the forge rooms. So it shouldn't be too hard to find one." It has to be well ventilated, yes, but it was a safety precaution in case the smoke escape columns were ever to be blocked off.

Eventually, they happened across a ventilation shaft nearby. It was large enough to fit them, for reasons of efficiency, and with a little finagling Dante opened it up.

"Ladies first?" Dante offered, clasping his hands together and getting into a low position. The opening of the shaft was near the ceiling of the hallway, so it just made things easier if he helped her in.

Though, the fox-yōkai didn't move.

Her curious gaze soon became an embarrassed one, and her cheeks flushed red, "M-master, I-I don't think you know-"

"Come on, up you go. It's just easier and more polite this way." Dante continued.

_That would mean… _Inuba gripped at her skirt, her blush getting just a little brighter as she took her Master's words into consideration, "I-if you s-say so, master."

With a bit of a running start, Inuba ran silently up to Dante and he easily shot her up into the vent above. With ease, Inuba climbed inside and moved a decent ways in before taking a look around. Subconsciously though, her mind was flaring with every second that passed.

Dante, not knowing exactly what he's done, brushed off his hands and bent down. He picked up the vent cover and soon jumped up himself, timing it perfectly and hauling himself inside. He somehow closed the shaft behind himself on his way in, then took a moment to seal it before turning his gaze forward.

It wasn't long… really. It just took… maybe… 2.7 seconds?

Give or take a couple milliseconds.

Either way, in no time at all, Dante's face found its way into a violent encounter with the ventilation shaft's wall with his eyes snapped closed. His own face now a heavy shade of red.

_I-I didn't even think about that?! W-what was I thinking?! Being polite? I was just being polite! It's not like I was trying to-! To… _Dante began to bash his face into the wall numerous times due to his gentleman-like decision.

"Master? Why are you hitting the wall?" Inuba asked, turning her head back as she rolled over and leaned her back against the wall.

Her skirt was, well… a lot less revealing now that she did that.

"N-no reason! I-it's just… poor positioning! W-would you mind switching with me?"

Inuba gave Dante a questionable look, it was almost hurt but at the same time… amused, "Were you not the one to say, 'ladies first'?"

"Yes! But… uh… uh… But I know the layout! This way, I could lead us there without us getting lost!" Dante cooked up, despite there being very few places they could get lost here.

"If you say so master. T-take the lead." Inuba realized how uncomfortable her master was, so she relented and pressed herself to the wall to give him room.

Dante, after hearing this, finally opened his eyes. Immediately though, he kept them from dashing around and just glued their gaze to the metal beneath his hands.

"J-just… don't move." He said as he crawled his way forward. There wasn't much clearance to get past Inuba, but it was enough for him to squeeze through. With some struggling, he managed to pull himself past her.

But, despite his careful actions, there was no denying the fact that their proximity was zero to none. They were practically hugging.

The fact alone caused Inuba to blush, but through sheer force of will, she closed her eyes and let Dante pull his way to the front of the pack.

It wasn't for another few seconds that she let out a shaky breath and began following a furiously blushing Dante.

"S-sorry… I didn't think about who'd be leading at first." Dante supplied, keeping the rest of his internal turmoil to himself.

"I-it's fine. You know where you're going, so it would make sense to put you at the front." Said Inuba, getting her breathing under control.

Dante silently nodded before taking a left at the nearest intersection and making his way further into the ventilation shaft.

Before long, they maneuvered their way through the vents and silently approached where he knew the shaft opened up into the forge room. Dante made sure to make their way to a far off entrance to prevent any noise from reaching the ears of whoever was inside, then cracked it open.

No one seemed to be in view, so he opened it fully and dropped inside without so much as a noise. Immediately after, he stepped aside and let Inuba deftly land as well in silence.

"_Do you think they heard us?" _Inuba asked, tuning into her mental link she used earlier that day.

"_Doubt it, we were more than silent." _Dante responded before taking a low approach and getting behind a forging station. _"Let's just see who's here first, then… if my theory's right… we make our presence known."_

"_Very well, but please keep in mind that our mutual friend will take us back to our universe soon. So we cannot linger for too long."_

"_I doubt she'd leave us here, but we should speed it up a bit. Just in case."_

Dante and Inuba made their way around the room. The dancing orange light across the walls gradually got brighter as they made their way around, traveling from station to station before getting into a vantage point to view the active forge.

"_Let's see… please be right…" _Dante thought as he looked over the marred surface of the crafting station he crouched behind.

The person using the forge was…

…

Not there?

Inuba's white fox-ears soon peaked over the edge as well, followed by crimson eyes, as she took a look as well.

"_Weird, I can't sense anyone in the room…" _Dante mentioned, standing up soon after with a cautious gaze directed around the room.

Inuba followed, and the two carefully made their way over to the active forge, still keeping their eyes alert for anything out of the ordinary.

"Did someone forget to deactivate a forge?" He asked as they approached, but as he made his way to the crafting bench… he noticed a familiar set of weapons. Though, they were in pieces actually.

What he immediately recognized were the sharp feathered wing-like blades. They were the largest of the pieces, and the most recognizable with their black sleek metal and now razor sharp edge.

"These are Xera's…" Dante said as he reached forward, picking up the detached blade amongst the organized and cleaned pieces of Annivia's Talons, "It's just been sharpened too-"

"Sharpened, re-treated, then cleaned." A new voice filled the room and Dante immediately looked up to see Xera standing in front of him. His misty green pullover sweatshirt was replaced with a black one of the same style, and a sleek pair of black sweatpants as well.

"Eyyyyyy, I knew you weren't dead!" Dante laughed as he placed the sharpened metal back down into its place.

"Am I the only one wondering how he just appeared there?" Inuba asked, cautiously taking in Xera's sudden appearance.

Xera crossed his arms, his flickering gaze illuminated by the orange flames of the forge behind his black bangs. A shade of sky blue now shining in the dim light of the room, "It's just what I thought my semblance used to be."

"To turn invisible and untraceable?" Inuba asked, something suddenly poked her shoulder and she turned to see Xera standing there. Her gaze then flicked instantly back to where he once was, seeing that place completely vacant now.

"For the most part. I can leave a hologram in my place, the thing is… I can't use any aura when I'm hidden." Xera explained before moving back to where he stood before.

Dante and Xera soon bumped fists atop the assortment of weaponized metal pieces, reacquainting themselves with each other, "It's great to see you alive man, and it's definitely a cool and tactical semblance. But how come you could use different ones in the tournament?"

Xera shrugged and reached into the furnace, pulling out a brightly glowing slab of metal with his bare hands and turning to place it onto an anvil, "Apparently, Deception isn't my _real_ semblance."

"Your _real_ semblance?" Asked Inuba.

"Wait, you're saying you have more than one semblance?" Dante added.

"Not necessarily. I just have a semblance that allows me to copy others that I'm close to. I haven't figured out more than that though. Just that I can only use three active semblances at the moment, the rest are tucked away somewhere." Xera said. As far as he could conclude, that was the truth.

"That's awesome! Do you know how powerful that could become?" Dante asked, curious about the potential of it all.

"Powerful? I have a lot of trouble just figuring out how to use each one. The thing is, I don't have instant knowledge of how to use a new semblance. I still have to practice with the ones I do have as it is…" Xera said, bringing up a hammer and shaping the piece of metal into a new form with deft ease.

"Given time, it could become something as powerful as what mas-, Dante says." Said Inuba, her own eyes watching as Xera picked the heated metal back up without so much as a wince of pain. _Is he immune to high temperatures?_

"It's true, and once you get training, we seriously need to have a duel some time. Really, it'd be fun." Dante added in.

"…I guess so. But sure, you're definitely on for a fight some time." Whether Xera was being modest or just brushing it off, he didn't know.

"Nice. By the way, did you name it yet?"

Xera looked back at Dante, pausing for a moment before dipping the heated metal into a vat of water, "I'm calling it Intertwining Flame."

"That seems… strangely fitting." Inuba commented.

"And cool." Said Dante.

"Yeah… but anyway. What are you still doing here, Dante? I thought you left after defeating Lockjaw. And who's this?" Xera asked, pulling the metal out then putting it back into the furnace to start the final heat treatment process.

"This is my partner, Inuba. And who'd miss the great final battle between two brothers? I didn't want to leave without seeing what happened." Dante said, sounding excited. But, beneath that he was also taking into account what Zerath is capable of… and what a Dark Entity Lord might do to Xera.

If something went down, he'd have been there to assist.

Xera cleaned off his hand, bathing it in a sheen of fire to burn away anything on it using his own affinity then wiping it on a clean cloth, "Nice to meet you, Inuba."

He extended his hand, and Inuba shook it formally, "It is nice to meet you as well, Xera Stark."

_Fox-yōkai? No ordinary Faunus would emanate this much supernatural energy… _Xera thought as he took his hand back, keeping half his mind on timing the piece of metal he stored away into the heat.

"Now that I know you're alive, I actually wanted to give you something. Two things, actually." Dante held up a small crystal, the object immediately catching Xera's gaze as he focused on it.

There were small detailed designed etched into its surface, and for some reason… upon reaching over and taking it carefully out of Dante's hand… it hummed with an odd feeling of energy.

"This is a summoning crystal. All you have to do is think about me as if you're calling for me with your thoughts, and I'll be pinged on my own crystal. That way, in case you're ever in need of help… you can call us in and we'd be happy to assist you." Dante explained, dropping his hand back to his side.

"It works exactly the way it sounds." Inuba added, "Once the one you're thinking about is ready, the crystal will transport the wielder to a nearby summoning point."

"It's completely undetectable and entirely useful, so keep it in mind in case you ever get in a bind with Zerath or anything else." Dante finished.

Xera flicked the small crystal around, taking a moment to admire its engravings before pocketing it, "Thanks. Seriously, it's awesome to know that I could call you back to my universe just like that. How often can I use it?"

"Just once every twelve hours. But guess what?"

"Hmm?"

"You gotta say 'what'."

"Que?"

"Come on, say it."

"…" Xera then tilted his head with a smirk, keeping silent.

"Until you say it, I won't tell you what I was going to say!" Dante retorted, crossing his arms and taking the same pose Xera was.

Inuba just placed her face into her palm, "I can't believe you two are so much alike…"

After a solid seven minutes, Dante narrowed his gaze. Xera did the same, but at the same time he took out his scroll and in all caps wrote, _'WHAT?'_

"Close enough!" Dante declared, clapping his hands before pointing to the pocket Xera placed the crystal in, "It works both ways. Which means in case I ever need your help, I'd be able to summon you to my own universe!"

Xera's own eyes widened for a moment, before his smirk turned genuine, "Uhh… thanks? I didn't know I'd be that important."

"Seriously, we make a great team. And even better, you'll just be getting stronger over time. So that means, if I end up calling on you, it'd definitely bring in some much needed cavalry." Dante said with a confident nod.

"Alright, I'm always willing to help you out then. What was the second thing?" Xera asked.

Dante held up his palm to himself and held up his other hand, "It's not _something_ per say, but you deserve to know more about me if we'll be working together."

Xera still held his confused, albeit intrigued, gaze.

"It's a memory link." Dante stated, just as he extended his finger and let his shadowskin cover his arm. The finger became a razor sharp claw and he tore a hole into his hand, just shallow enough for it to bleed before asking for Xera's hand. "It might be a bit overwhelming, so take a deep breath and try not to freak out too much."

Xera gave Dante his hand and the teen did the same to Xera's palm, then pulled his shadowskinned hand back and clasped his other into Xera's wounded one.

Immediately, a flood of memories flew through Xera's mind. Dante's entire life flashed before the phoenix's eyes, showing the happy, the moments of joy, all the friends Dante met throughout his time of being in existence.

His adventures in New Wellington, his treks to other worlds, back to even before that, and everything beyond it.

Xera saw Dante's makeshift and ever spanning family of friends throughout the worlds, all the encounters he's ever had, the dark entities and creatures he's fought…

The people he's killed.

The darkness that consumed him, the devastating destruction of other entities, the countless darker moments of pain and hurt. All the moments that proved to the world and Dante himself that, in any case, no human could go through what he did… and not destroy themselves because of it.

As the memories slowed to a stop, Xera blinked away the blurriness of his vision and took his hand back. The small prick of a wound soon healed itself as Xera looked to the fire at his side, the blood coating his hand slowly burning away.

Nothing was said.

The odd silence lasted for a few seconds too long, and just as Dante was about to say something… Xera reached down and pulled out a box of graham crackers.

"Now I know your favorite food." Xera commented, popping the box open and offering Dante some.

Dante, a bit confused but at the same time figured Xera wouldn't act like anyone else would, took a hand full of graham crackers from his friend as both he and Inuba stared at each other for a few moments before looking back to Xera.

"That's… your reaction?" Inuba inquired.

"What? I make it a point to know everyone's favorite foods." Xera replied, offering Inuba some as well. She decided to take a couple for herself and nibbled the corner off of one.

"After everything you just saw… you don't want to say anything? Much less ask questions?" Dante asked, then took another carefree bite out of his new snack.

"What's to be said that isn't already said?" Xera asked, before sliding the entire box to Dante's side of the crafting table.

"That is… well… true. Still though, nothing whatsoever?" Asked Inuba.

Dante discreetly took the box with a thankful nod, then allowed himself full unrequited access to his favorite snack, "Like I said, Xera's definitely worth giving a crystal to."

"If you say so, master."

* * *

Xera knew he couldn't make it back to Beacon in time. There was no way. Without flight or the ability to call for anyone with his scroll, he'd never be able to make it back in time to help his brother.

It was the bitter truth… and he was slowly realizing the impossibility of even making it back in less than a few days anyway.

Half his team was down, his friends knew little of what was going on… there was only one person Xera knew that could help his brother and use the research they gathered to remove Soul-Slasher.

With that, Xera's crystal glimmered momentarily in the light as he drew it from his pocket.

"Time to bring in the cavalry… I hope Dante will know what to do…" Xera started the process of summoning his friend.

_With my team unconscious, save for one, and no one else knowing what's truly going on with Zerath… _"He's all that's left… I've run out of time…"

* * *

The subtle beat of a heart monitor fluttered through the vacant room. One resident resided in its darkness, enclosed in a bed of sheets, pillows… and aura resistant chains.

Black ice covered every surface. The cold grip of Zerath's affinity reached out in an ever spanning presence throughout the room.

His bed, and everything around it, crystallized itself in a frozen capture of ice as black as the dark mists sweeping through the room.

Darkness was slowly consuming Zerath's mind… a darkness that wiped out all light… all hope within Zerath's own soul.

He was losing control.

Soul-Slasher was taking over. Zerath's time was nearly up, his coma only accelerating the dark entities efforts.

After the events that have come to pass, it left the Stark brother's body and mind not only weak… but exhausted.

And now that the kill chip was no longer an issue…

…

Soul-Slasher could finally make his move.

* * *

**So! Soul-Slasher is taking over, Dante is making another appearance into the story, Inuba is also making an appearance and is also from my good friend's story 'Hero of Remnant', Xera's stuck flightless in the middle of a desert, and his team is basically entirely unconscious!**

**Whatever shall they do?!**

**How will all this be resolved?!**

**Will there be bikini's in the next chapter?!**

**We will never know… of course… you will come next chapter. This was just all the setup. There's a lot that's going to go down next time… don't miss it.**

**For those of you that missed it, Dremoha is practically a direct reference to Dremora within the lore of Skyrim, part of the Elder Scrolls franchise. They'll look just like their names depict too… which'll be so much fun once I get there.**

**Also, another thing that I should probably touch on. I do this for basically all my chapter titles, but the list of titles actually tell you exactly what's going on in the story.**

**Seriously, it's so delicate I love it. With how I work them all out, their designed to mean nothing if you read it before reading the chapter. Of course though, once you read the chapter, it reveals the meaning that the title had. In doing so, it basically sums up the entire chapter in a few words… without spoiling anything!**

**And of course, most of my chapter titles allude to something within the chapter or have double meanings. This one for example… has a double meaning.**

**Can you figure it out? What could this title mean? What are all the interpretations possible for just 'Cavalry for the Stranded'?**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	61. Reality is Just another Illusion

**So… someone finally pointed something out that happened in an earlier chapter. As of April 28 (2016) someone actually took notice to this thing that I've been keeping quiet for a while ever since Volume 3 XD.**

**We all know the cool reveal that took place involving Nora's semblance. It was a fun scene and an even more fun battle. But… it spelled ironic disaster for a **_**particular**_** scene of my own within Chapter 16: Ribbon Duel and Battle of Strength.**

**More specifically… the battle of strength between Nora Valkyrie and Rex Tyro. Rex beat Nora with a massive lightning bolt… if you remember that.**

**In actuality, that attack should've not only charged Nora up but probably healed her too. Thankfully, she was also sent through a couple stone pillars and embedded into a wall… so yeah. Interpret that how you will…**

**Props to '****Locke62****' for pointing that out though :P.**

**Sky: GWAAAAARRR! I is kitten! Me fluffy paw is de ruler.**

**Xera: Did you know my friend and I devised a semblance that launched kittens harmlessly from one's palms?**

**Sky: I… I want it.**

**Xera: But… you… you still need Skyla's ability to be explained-**

**Sky: Gimme da kittens.**

**Xera: …**

**Sky: Me want- H-hey! Come back here!**

**Aaaaaaanyway… onto the chapter.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 61: Reality is Just another Illusion

**Third Person**

The shimmering gold of dawn took the land by beauty in the silence of the morning, casting shadows across the stone courtyards of Beacon. Pillars rose from the cold ground in organized segments across its outer most reaches, lifting archways into the sky in an architectural effort for excellence.

They circled the courtyard, following its edge closely before turning down the large pathway into Beacon Academy. Trees glistened in the subtle wind, blazing in the new light as mid-fall was drawing ever nearer, rendering the trees in colors of scattering enchantments of flame.

No students were there to witness nature's beauty, it was too early in the morning to venture out into the cool air of the day. Those that were up though, happened to be getting ready for their early classes.

So, it was in this light, and this knowledge, that it was safe to say no one truly saw what happened next.

A bright white flash illuminated the courtyard of stone, vibrating the air around it in a subtle crystalline hum.

Light breezes then whisked across the ground, swirling forward and away from the brief flash as stray leaves scraped across the hard surface.

It wasn't long before the light faded away and the unnatural wind ceased, revealing two figures stepping forward out of where it all originated from.

"Wow, it's… good to be back." Dante said as he turned his blue gaze upward, catching the bright reflection of the tower's high windows against the morning sky.

"Time hasn't moved much, has it?" Inuba asked as she looked around Beacon's grounds.

"No… no it hasn't." Dante's eyes fell for a moment, one hand clenching as the black sling encompassing his bandaged right arm shifted ever so slightly, "We can't bring anything up, you know that."

"I do, it'd spell disaster if they learned what's to happen." Inuba then stepped forward and turned her gaze back to her master, "You _can't_ change it though. I know you'll want to."

Dante didn't answer, but he knew full well the possible consequences of such actions. Consequences he simply didn't have time for, nor wanted to put the extra effort into warding off, "I'll be good." He then said with a coy smile.

Inuba nodded once before turning and falling back in line with Dante as they moved toward the school.

"Why do you think Xera called us here?"

"Not sure. He's usually pretty calm about everything and seems determined to face a lot of tasks on his own. I never thought he'd need help any time soon."

"What if he just wanted to see us?" Inuba asked, bringing a small chuckle out of Dante.

"He's not the social butterfly either. So, I doubt that. _But_… I could be wrong. I mean, we _are_ pretty friendly."

"Yes, friendly… Let's assume that is the case."

Dante cracked a smile and rubbed the back of his neck, "In all seriousness though, this could be bad."

"Bad?" A new voice cut through the morning air, causing the two teens to come to a stop. Dante's gaze soon tilted upward to meet the eyes and ears of a familiar wolf faunus.

"I thought you were asleep up there."

Black hair drifted in the wind as Destiny's ebony wolf ears perked up a bit, "I was… until Fate woke me up. Apparently her boy-toy's come to visit her." She commented as she stood from her spot atop a nearby pillar and stepped off, landing with a small wince once she landed. Her tournament injuries were still apparent it would seem.

_His spatial awareness has improved… or was I being too obvious?_

"E-excuse me, b-but I'm sure you're mistaken." Inuba spoke up in the kindest voice she could muster, though it was laced with a couple shards of ice and a lingering sting of searing heat.

Destiny quirked an eyebrow as Inuba took a step forward. Behind the fox-yōkai, Dante shook his hands back and forth with a red face.

"We just fought each other and had a few conversations. That's it." He defended himself.

"Oh, and here I thought we were friends." Destiny retorted in time to see Inuba's eyes narrow… and then relax.

"W-well, yeah. We are…" Dante looked to the side, letting out a quick breath.

Only for it to be choked on.

"I haven't met your girlfriend before. She seems… nice."

Almost in sync, Dante's and Inuba's faces took on Ruby's name-sake as they both shook their head frantically.

"N-no, it's not like that!" Inuba quickly said, even though she had a moment to reconsider.

"Yeah, we're just partners for life-" Dante stopped himself before he said too much there. _This… this can't end well… _When Inuba and he had first met, they enacted a special bond to remain partners for eternity. To fight side by side.

It's why Inuba calls him master, much to his insistence of something else.

"M-married huh? I never would have guessed… I mean, congratulations?" Destiny turned her own gaze away, her own cheeks dusting red for a moment as she stopped her inner thoughts from venturing down too many rabbit holes.

Inuba had to stop her tail from instinctively swaying back and forth as she suddenly stood rigid, her own face burning all the hotter. She shouldn't squeal, no that would just be off-putting and obvious. Of course though, that didn't stop her from squealing and dying within her own mind.

"Y-you know what, how about we just head inside?" Asked Dante, hoping to drop the subject at hand.

"You two can, I've been waiting for something. What happened to your arm though, if you don't mind me asking." Destiny's purple eyes drifted over the black sling supporting Dante's right arm.

"Long story. I got into a bit of a fight back in my own universe over some graham crackers. It was just… one big mess." _Yeah, let's just go with that. _Dante said, hoping Destiny and Fate wouldn't look too far into it.

"_You know, the pretty boy gave us a run for our money the last we met. He's more than just a little powerful. In fact, we've never fought anyone stronger." _Fate echoed, causing Destiny to tilt her head subtly.

_True, so what do you think was able to do so much damage to him?_

Destiny's inquiry was met with silence. Neither her sister nor she had any true guesses as to what could've hurt Dante, which was quite the statement. They knew plenty of powerful entities throughout the worlds…

"Sounds like you were forced into a confrontation against something pretty powerful. Should I even ask or will you leave me to try and deduct it myself as usual?" It was a neutral and calculated response, but it opened up the opportunity for him to give her a direct answer.

"You probably shouldn't." Dante was taking every precaution and hating himself for it. Seriously, how hard was it to just keep quiet about the future?! Very. It was very… very difficult! He wanted to, oh he wanted to warn her, them, with every fiber of his being.

But… he shouldn't.

Destiny nodded after a moment, fixing her glasses soon after as she fixed her eyes onto the fox-yōkai, "Is she going to be alright?"

Inuba had wrapped her tail tightly around her waist as she struggled to stand upright, blush still intense as it had been moments earlier. For some reason, she was muttering something about a ceremony, some incoherent whimpers and claims of marriage, and her mother being at fault.

"She'll… she'll be fine. She'll snap out of it… eventually. But, I do have a question. What's going on here? Xera called us in, but we don't know what's going on." Dante asked, walking over to Inuba and supporting one of her shoulders.

She was swaying a little too much.

Destiny let out a long sigh and moved back over to her pillar, using it as something to lean on as she addressed the two, or was it just the one now, in front of her. "Xera filled me in, but as you probably found out yourself. He faked his death."

"I found that out before I left, but I never asked why he did it."

_Well, good to see he knows where I'm leading this. _"There's an organization, more of a syndicate actually once you discard their legal façade, that wants him and his race dead. It was the reason why Zerath was sent into the tournament. He's an assassin, and his mission was to eliminate Xera Stark… his own brother."

"Makes sense. How come Zerath went against his orders?"

"From what I know, they worked out a deal before the tournament. Xera wanted to see if he could convince that corporation that the hit was a success. In doing so, he managed to get a third party to track back the source of a signal that was meant to execute Zerath. It seems Soul-Slasher wanted a bit of revenge for being used."

"And that would lead him to where the organization resides…" Dante concluded.

Destiny nodded her head before she turned her gaze to the horizon, beyond Beacon's airship docks, "At least somewhere close, but that's the gist of it. And as of yesterday morning, team XSRA and Professor Miralla flew out to the Krono Desert. I found out later from team RWBY as to why."

"To seek out where the signal led him, and to gather what he could." _Damn, maybe I should've stayed just another day. Time moves slower here as it is, so it wouldn't have made much of a difference. _Dante ran a hand through his hair as he thought everything over. "From what I've seen, he can definitely take care of himself."

The wolf-faunus nodded to that comment.

"You said you were waiting for something?"

"Yes, since it was a reconnaissance mission it's likely his team would return today. So… I've been waiting around."

"You didn't leave after the tournament?"

"No, actually Ozpin invited me to join Beacon Academy." Destiny replied with a smile, "He hasn't worked out my team yet, and I don't have to attend classes at the moment, so I've had free time."

"I don't see why he shouldn't. Your fight was incredible, it was as obvious as night and day to bring you in."

Maybe it was the compliment, or just Dante's proximity, or maybe a little of both. In any case, Inuba suddenly flinched and shook her head, flicking her gaze around to see what was going on.

"S-sorry, d-did I miss anything?" Crimson eyes finally rested on the girl leaning against the pillar.

"Not much, actually. Good luck with your… _thoughts_. I'm sure if you try hard, you'll make a great waifu." Destiny teased, earning yet another hard blush from the fox-yōkai.

Their moment, however, was broken when Destiny's wolf-ears suddenly twitched. Velvety black appendages stood up on alert and she turned her head to the docks, eyes scanning the horizon. Despite Inuba's own distraction though, she managed to pick up the noise too.

It was familiar. No one in Vale could mistake the noise for anything else. The banking winds surrounding Beacon carried it all the clearer… ripping through the air like a pin dropping in a silent room.

The increasing hum of engines cut through the horizon. And from the south-western side of the school… the speck of a bullhead shimmered into view alongside a large bird.

There was a trail of something following behind the airship, "Is that…?"

"Smoke." Dante confirmed, following the two girls' lines of sight.

* * *

Parched.

If there was one word to describe how Xera was feeling… it was the unbelievably dry feeling in his mouth and throat… and the strong desire to _drink_ something.

Anything.

His canteen was vaporized, and with it the remains of his water.

He couldn't fly to speed things up, and he couldn't make out anything but sand in any of his surroundings.

Just… some very bad decisions lying in wait for him to slip up.

In this case though, it was unavoidable.

"I… I'm going insane. I can't seriously be considering this." He muttered, trying and failing to come up with any other solution. _I have fire flowing through my veins… through my aura… it… it couldn't affect me too much… could it? It'll burn away… just like poison and medication, right?_

It was a longshot at best, comparing this deathly substance to that of recreational drugs or poisonous venom.

He couldn't, no, he shouldn't do this.

Just because he could… doesn't mean he should.

But, in cases like this… The _should_ is weighed down by the ever present factor of _necessity_. He needed hydration, so he could be forgiven… right?

"I'm so going to hell." Xera bit his lip, closing his uncertain eyes as he admitted himself into the halls of the demons.

That's what this felt like anyway.

"It's death by thirst… or death by something so much worse. I… I'd rather just keep going and not do this." Xera reconsidered, but he knew he couldn't convince himself to do anything _other_ than what he was about to do.

Necessity outweighed the desire.

And with those thoughts, those very tantalizing doubts, and plenty of cursing, Xera drew his blade and lashed out at the cactus that sat stupidly in front of him.

Stupid cactus.

He'll hate himself forever for doing this, but he had no choice.

Cactus juice was better than nothing after all.

In the light of the situation, he found one positive. Skyla was right, cactus juice is extremely thirst quenching.

Xera drank what he needed, soothing his throat and finally getting moisture back into his systems. The water was also strangely cool, sating everything he needed it too before he sighed and closed his eyes.

He waited… and waited…

He knew its affects were coming. Skyla's happened immediately, so he should expect to see them soon.

After a painstakingly long minute though, Xera opened his eyes to no changes at all.

"Huh, guess it really does burn away like everything else does." He thought out loud, before moving forward once again.

His mind seemed clear enough to pick the right direction at least.

Though, his ears picked up some movement off to the side. If he wasn't alone in a desert, it wouldn't have meant anything.

The fact that he was _alone_ in a desert, _devoid _of _any_ grimm and creatures for a fifty mile radius… was enough to set off warning bells.

Slowly, he stopped his pace and turned his gaze.

_K-kill me… just kill me now… _His cheeks flushed red as what seemed to be Blake tackled what also seemed to be Fate into the clutches of the sandy ground.

He quickly slapped a hand over his eyes and tilted his head back, but the images were already implanted into every reach of his mind.

"He's mine!" Blake yelled uncharacteristically, rolling Fate onto her back and all but hissing at her.

Fate knocked the cat-faunus off of her and retaliated in kind, "That's what you think little kitty, but you could never understand him like I do! I figured out his secret! There's nothing he ever needs to hide from me that I can't figure out on my own! Plus, he gets two for the price of one in our deal!"

Blake only growled more and dove back at Destiny, "In your dreams! At least I waited for him to tell me! You just cornered him in a hall and dug the truth out of him!"

"Oh? And you think he actually wants a pussycat in his life? Why not an attractive young wolf?!"

Xera nearly buried his head in the sand. He wouldn't have thought too much of it if he could, if that were even an option. But… the fact that they were both in very revealing bikinis that left little to the imagination… was another factor altogether.

Seriously, at what point in his thoughts did he ever even think of this happening? Of them yelling these kinds of things…

Isn't Destiny with Velvet? Wasn't that a thing?

_W-why? Just… just why? _No matter how much he chastised himself for even getting a glimpse of all the attractive curves, pale skin, or-

_Stopping those thoughts right there. _Xera thought as he mentally slapped himself.

_J-just ignore them._

There weren't any beaches or pools nearby, so he couldn't for the life of him understand what was going on. And why they were arguing about claiming someone…

And why the hell was that French toast still following him?!

* * *

"Ace Azil, reporting in for immediate landing." Ace spoke from within his cockpit, the school drawing closer as he felt another rough shudder tear through his ship.

"Landing pad two is available for entry, air currents are low but taking caution is advised, welcome home Mister Azil."

"Glad to be back Watchtower. I've got some injured on board, send out emergency responders immediately."

"Responders have been dispatched, along with your personal engineers. You look like you took a beating out there."

Ace chuckled and flicked off the auxiliary power switches, reverting back to his last traces of fuel to make his approach, "You have no idea."

Pulling up, Ace slowed his approach and turned the bullhead into a stable rotation, pulling it to a slow halt just above the available landing pad and descending soon after. He then immediately flicked the switch to open his compartment bay door, before going through various landing checks with deft efficiency.

* * *

"Welcome back kids. There's a medical team waiting for you to step out of this bird, so make sure you get those teammates of yours into their hands." Ace spoke over the intercom as the door to the compartment slowly opened.

Allix quickly unbuckled herself and moved over to her partner, triple checking everything before so much as unbuckling him as well.

"T-thanks." She wasn't much of a talker, but she knew her pilot deserved at least someone's thanks.

"No problem, kid."

The intercom then switched off as Caza stood with a long stretch of her arms, "How is he?"

Allix stood up and made her way over to Skyla, unbuckling her as well, but with no less care, "He's stable. His aura replenished a bit on the ride back but… still not conscious."

Professor Miralla sighed and took off her black cowboy hat, running a hand through her long blue hair before placing it atop Allix's head.

The girl stood up suddenly and looked up, peering out from under it's dark ridge at the professor before her.

"He'll be fine, they both will. I've been monitoring their vitals throughout the entire ride."

_S-she was?_

The woman cracked an amused smile and laughed for a moment, "Come on Miss Stowe. I'm a professor. It's my job to make sure you munchkins make it back alive."

Despite all the jokes, or the suggested actions, Caza seemed like a pretty down to remnant person when she needed to be.

But, there was still…

"What about-"

Professor Miralla hushed the smaller girl by tapping the top of her hat more snugly onto Allix's head, "Relax, I'm sure Ozpin will send a team out to retrieve your leader. Something tells me he's just fine."

Allix swallowed the lump in her throat, but nodded soon after. It was then that they felt the airship shake for a moment.

Her gaze turned quickly to the approach of a team of nurses, a couple of which were boarding the vessel.

"Stay with your team, I'll see what we can do with this new kitsune." Caza said, turning her gaze to the softly breathing kumiho-faunus still buckled tightly into a nearby seat, "Oh, and I'll be wanting that hat back in the morning."

Allix looked up to see Caza smile, before she turned to the emergency responders and started assisting them in anything she figured they lacked. She quickly informed them of all the injuries the team members and fox-yōkai sustained before making room for a few stretchers.

"Hey! What happened? Is everything alright?" Someone called out as three new faces boarded the vessel behind the nurses.

The archer took some solace in the warm hat atop her head, before she tipped it up slightly and saw the grimace on a white haired teen's face.

"You were from the tournament, right?" She asked.

His blue eyes drifted over her teammates slowly before looking back to her, "Yeah, I'm a friend of Xera. Did he mention me?"

"Let me just speed things up." Destiny cut in, stepping up to the teen's side with Inuba, "This is Dante and Inuba, you already know me, now what happened to you guys?" Then with another quick glance, Destiny inquired further, "And where's Xera?"

The wolf-faunus gestured to both her white-haired companions with their introduction, one of which made her way over and crouched in front of the fox-yōkai Xera found inside the facility.

"Dante…" Allix reiterated, "Skyla mentioned something about you." She concluded, more to convince herself of his words than anything else, "I can fill you in once we're inside." The archer then turned to Inuba as she watched the girl close her eyes and pass some white flames over to the unconscious kumiho, "What's she doing?"

Dante gripped the red-head's shoulder softly before giving her a reassuring smile, "We're here to help. She's just seeing if she can sense any injuries and heal them up for now."

_Another fox-yōkai… I wonder if she's from one of the Kitsune Clans. If she is… what's she doing here? _Dante pushed that thought off to the side for now. There were more important things at the moment.

* * *

Allix told them as much as she could. Their mission went south, that much was for certain. But how far south, now that was a question she didn't know the answer to.

She didn't know what the impact of what happened could cause, but she did know there was still one underlying variable that she just couldn't ignore.

"I need to find Ozpin. He needs to know that Xera's still out there." Allix said, quickly standing from her chair in the waiting room of the large infirmary. She was unexpectedly stopped in her tracks though when the sound of a hardened cane tapped through the dullness of the room.

"That, Miss Stowe, can be arranged."

_Why is it that he always seems to be listening in?_ "Y-you've been there the whole time?" Allix asked.

"_We_ have." A second voice sounded through the doorway as Miss Goodwitch made her way in behind the headmaster, "We've already assembled a team-"

"We'd like to go." Dante interrupted, standing up from his own seat.

"Forgive me, but are you not injured yourself?" Glynda responded, eyeing his black sling warily.

"I can help track him down, so it'll speed up the process." Dante added.

"Mas- Dante, I can help as well-"

"Sorry Inuba, but I need you to stay and help out here. Your healing is extremely useful in the case of rapid healing. And frankly, should anything go wrong, you'd be the right person for the job when it comes to healing."

Ozpin quirked a brow at that little fact, but he tapped his cane once more before taking a sip from his coffee, "And you? Miss Echols?"

Destiny crossed one leg over the other as she leaned back, "I thought it was obvious that I'll be tagging along. Soarix has some of the best eyesight you could ask for when on a recovery mission. Plus, I'm not going to leave behind a friend like that…"

The young wolf-faunus leaned forward to accentuate her claim, "No matter what, even if survival is nearly impossible. Besides, I care for Blake almost like a sister, so if there's bad news to be delivered… I'll be the one to do it."

"Understandable." The headmaster nodded before turning to Inuba, "If you truly are a healer… Then I have a bit of a task for you. Would you be willing to help?"

"Of course." Inuba replied, her heart didn't even have time to beat before her confirmation was made clear.

"Then, you two gather everything you need. You are to meet with team CFVY out on Beacon's docks." Glynda informed, causing two of the three in front of her to start moving.

"Actually…" Ozpin cut in, "You will also be accompanied by Tai Blackthorne on this rescue mission." The headmaster had been wanting to evaluate that man's skills further than what was displayed in the tournament. Now wasn't exactly an ideal time for that to take place… however the Blackthorne showed interest in lending his assistance.

Two birds with one stone, or so they say. Ozpin preferred to brew coffee for two, then drink it all himself.

"How come teams RWBY, JNPR, and SNAR aren't getting informed?" Dante asked as he stopped to address the only other white-haired man in the room.

"That, mysterious guy, is because they are in _class_." Ozpin quipped with a subtle smirk.

_Don't… don't call me that._

To Dante's minute dismay, he heard Destiny and Inuba giggle behind his back.

With a silent growl but an emerging amused smile, Dante and Destiny jogged down the hall and headed for the docks again. Behind them, Ozpin silently took another sip from his coffee mug and watched them turn the next corner.

"Miss Stowe, you know it's rude to withhold information from friends." He commented knowingly, casting a glance back to the girl by her seat.

She seemed to shrink slightly under the momentary glance, making her eyes disappear behind the lip of a hat as she tilted her head down.

"Sir, what do you mean? She told us everything." Inuba asked, turning to the headmaster with an innocent but obedient look.

"_Almost_ everything." The man sighed, before nodding to Glynda, "Gather a full report from Miss Stowe. As for you, miss…"

"Inuba Kitsukami, sir."

"Miss Kitsukami, I'd like you to walk with me. There's someplace I would like you to see."

A little put-off by the comment, Inuba cast a careful glance back to Allix. Despite her confusion though, the headmaster she knew of was only ever executing actions with good intentions.

"Where are we going?"

Ozpin stepped forward and started heading deeper into the infirmary wing's corridors, "You'll see."

She stepped up in line with the man moments later, her eyes registering the subtle fact that the hallway seemed to be getting darker the further down they went.

That…

And it was getting colder.

* * *

Could French toast fly? Xera didn't know the answer to that question. Well, he did… but what he was seeing now was bringing up the plausibility of refuting that fact.

With what seemed like the umpteenth time he shook his head, he tried once again to clear the haziness covering his mental senses.

Of course though, this only brought around more illusions.

It had been a few hours now since he had woken up at the brink of dawn and glass. So he wasn't exhausted, and he had his thirst sated about an hour or two ago.

Which meant he was making decent progress.

He was still walking on glass. That much was for certain. It spanned out further than he first anticipated, and if he were to guess it probably covered half of the entire desert.

Or, somewhere close to that.

Math was hard right now.

In any normal circumstances, that conversion was easy. Just use his own shadow as a means of trajectory in terms of finding his angle in comparison to the sun, then use the time of day, season, and year to calculate his exact position on the planet.

Then with a final battle with memory, he'd determine where those coordinates lay within the field of other coordinates scattered across the desert region by Vacuo.

Easy.

He'd then find everything needed to measure the radius of his fiery exertion.

The only issue right now… well…

All of that was impossible when he kept seeing flavors and tasting colors. Or, were the colors listening to him?

Why did that cactus just look at him funny? And how come it was colored like the number nine?

Yeah, it's safe to say his mind was currently too distracting for thoughts of any kind.

"You seem lost, little phoenix."

A voice dipped into his mind and it took him a few moments to register it. His eyes dashed back and forth, and the haze of his mind cleared for just a moment.

It wasn't long enough, it seemed, since he shook his head again and looked up. The silhouette of a woman stood before him, prompting him to stop in both heart and stride.

The golden sun shined at her back, basking her in a blanket of shadow as her hood fluttered slightly in the dry winds of the desert. Glass sparkled in dancing lights all around her. And in what felt like forever, Xera took a deep halting breath.

Whatever white noise that was in his ears had vanished, all he heard was his intake of air before that too was cast aside.

Time felt like it was frozen now, much like the glass at his feet, before he fell to a knee and struggled to grip at his internal balance.

"It's been a long time since we've spoken, my dear." The silhouette of the woman, someone Xera was beginning to understand in full as to who she was, crouched down in front of his kneeling form.

With a soft familiar hand, she lifted Xera's dipped chin to let him see her face, "I haven't spoken to my son in five years."

Eyes as pink as the day he was born, her pearlescent orbs cleared the shadows of his mind as he looked up into that loving gaze he'd come to miss.

_I-it… it can't be her…_

She gave him a warm smile, shining him in an ethereal light he had once nearly forgotten.

After all, no one forgets their mother's smile.

"I've been keeping an eye on you for quite a while." The woman said, her young face an elegance seen by few in the world of Remnant. Black hair, a shade that matched Xera's, cascaded straight down to her lower back in flowing silken strands.

Perfection fell just short of her figure, if it hadn't already limited itself to its own qualifications.

Softly waving cloth was all he heard now as Leona Stark let the cloak of her hood down, its length nearly reaching the black heeled combat boots she donned. The attire was thin and light, but covered her clothes nonetheless as her pale skin came into light.

"You've met someone. A mischievous cat-faunus, and quite beautiful might I add." The woman laughed lightly, her soft and loving voice never devoid of the passion she's always carried.

_Can it… really be her…?_

"She'll be good for you. You need to hold onto something again. Though, I have to admit… I never thought my son would fall so quickly for a lost kitten." Leona teased, "She is _quite_ the young woman. I'll give her that."

Xera looked off to the side for a moment, his cheeks taking on their own dusting of pink before he let out a small breath, "Well… you can't blame me for that. I love her."

Leona leaned forward with a smile, "I know." Her presence pulled back a moment later, "Now come along, it's time we finished your phoenix training."

The young phoenix pushed himself to his feet, taking a deep breath as he did so. His hand reached out when his mother stood up, nearly reaching her sleeve before he stopped.

_No… if she's real… or if she isn't… I-I… I don't want to know. I don't want to go through that all over again. _He took his hand back down to his side and tilted his gaze to the sky, then returned it to the one he lived with for most of his life, "What am I about to learn?"

The loving woman could only crack another smile as the glass around them shifted. A deep, rumbling rocking in the ground caused cracks to sputter up sand and shards all around him.

Splits in the hardened desert shattered across the surface of his surroundings, crumbling the glass in a quickly expanding quake before it all began to sink downward.

With just enough wit about him, he gripped the slanting glass with his shoes and took off running up the slipping slope of crumbling shards. His mother ran up ahead of him, taking the safest and most efficient route for him to follow.

And he did…

Every step his mother took, he did as well. Before long, he was out of the mass of shifting sands and back onto solid glass.

The silence didn't last long though.

"Your final lesson… is survival, the will to keep living, to keep fighting, and above all…" Leona stated behind him, right before the ground quaked again and sent a shuddering vibration across the expansion of the desert, "To keeping adapting."

Sand ruptured into the air. An immense blur of black scales exploded out of the sandy waves like a sea monster in the beginning of times. Long serpentine spines and smooth arcing hills of glistening black rolled out of the ground as if it were as fluid as water.

The shifting of desert hills and scattering glass thickened the air with its movements before a vicious snarl once again tormented the ground.

The scales throughout the massive half-surfaced serpent shuddered and glowed in a powerful red light. Their seems emanated a deep raging crimson in a blistering sense of depth and desolation. Countless spines lined across the curves of its back. Obsidian spikes protruded high and wide, sharp enough to slice through bedrock and stone like blades through the rushing rapids of a raging river.

"The legends depict a fire-breathing creature of such immense size that the desert boils and melts when it swims on its surface." He heard Leona say, her voice carrying through the sound of the rising grimm's immense body.

"Its skin is like a double coat of mail, with overlapping scales as large as shields and as sharp as the blades on its back, and its under-parts hard as broken stone." Leona called out as she continued, and the creature continued to unbury itself, "Steel swords and spears will simply bounce off its very hide."

Xera drew his blade nonetheless as the mass of black and red writhed in the sands. His eyes took in its ungodly size, easily eleven times the size of a Kraken and ten times the size of a large airship.

And finally… Out of the sand directly in front of him excavated its head.

Sand fell from pitch black skin, its snout and angular features shook and twisted as it lifted out of the clutches of Remnant's deepest chambers. Fins spanned back from its neck, flexing in the open air and radiating a brilliant ruby light.

Its eyes soon narrowed, an ancient glow smoldering from them like the glimmerings of a piercing red dawn.

"The dragon of the desert." Leona said with a challenging smile, "The Drakon Leviathan."

Spines shifted as the head rose and leaned back, its neck and the rest of its body tensing before beginning to glow in an internal incinerating orange light.

Its glaring eyes never so much as left Xera as bursts of smoke streamed out of its nostrils.

Then with an intake of hot air, it opened its gaping maw, rimmed with countless teeth, and let a shine fester in the back of its throat.

All before, with a thunderous roar, it unleashed a torrent of thick erupting fire in an outburst of burning heat. The flames forcefully slammed into Xera and consumed him in its glow, smashing into the glass at his feet with enough force to generate a small hurricane of scattering winds.

Scorching heat of destruction suddenly ripped across the ground, the Leviathan's roar only getting all the louder as it focused its energy into decimating the few miles in front of it with its remnant-melting rage.

Then, as the ear splitting wail of the beast finally died down, the heat that tumbled out of its mouth like a jet of hot steam soon diminished in the glistening light of the morning sun.

Molten glass bubbled and churned in a vast cone in front of it, and at its focal point swiped the steel of a shining ebony blade. The final flickers of flame dispersed, its heat blowing outward in a rising ring of orange from Xera's simmering form.

He stood there with his eyes closed. His shoulders rose slowly as he took in a long relaxing breath, releasing it moments later in an extended exhale of new energy.

The black cloth of his sweatshirt smoked momentarily as he lowered into a readying stance, sword held outward at his side as he opened his eyes. His irises flashed through a multitude of colors as they let out their own reflective radiating glows…

Faint glows that matched the aura pulsing around him. Shining with enough energy to retaliate in _full_ to the Leviathan's powerful attack.

Leona stood off to the side, her eyes trained on Xera as he stared up at the colossal Dremoha at his front, "After all, it's time you learned how to use that new fire of yours my little phoenix."

* * *

**I'll start the A/N by asking you a pretty powerful question:**

**oOo **_**"Is Leona Stark alive… or dead?"**_** oOo**

**Just some food for thought.**

**Anyway.**

**I do not condone ingestion of drugs in any way other than justifiable over-the-counter medication or prescriptions. That being said, I would argue that cactus juice is better than dying of thirst. Also, that's not actually the reason why I had Xera drink it in the first place.**

**I did it to finally pull in the impending question of whether or not his mother is truly **_**dead**_** or **_**alive**_**. That's definitely something to think about. It could go both ways XD. Similar to the whole Summer conundrum.**

**Inuba has quite the task ahead of her, that's for sure. Dante and Destiny are heading out alongside Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi as part of a rescue mission for one Xera Stark. That, and Tai Blackthorne (from 'The Adventures of Team TGSN' by '****Arrix****', you've seen him before in the tournament).**

**Whew, sounds like a fun next chapter.**

**That Leviathan is something I've been wanting to incorporate. I figured it'd be a great way to introduce the sheer scale of Dremoha classed grimm inside this story.**

**I've had that image in my head for a while you know. A lone figure (Xera), black sword in hand and slightly leaning forward in the face of an immense Leviathan. Smoldering eyes as murderous as they are bright, and all around the hero spanned a sea of reflective glass. As if the ocean itself froze over for a heaven shattering confrontation between mortal and god.**

**Sounds cool right? Man, I really want that drawn… Best XSRA cover-image NA… of all time.**

**Oh, and if you recall this question from last chapter, "Can you figure it out? What could this title mean? What are all the interpretations possible for just 'Cavalry for the Stranded'?"**

**The answer? Well Xera had called in cavalry in hopes of reinforcements to help his brother. In a sense, this is cavalry for the stranded, him being the stranded. Unfortunately, or fortunately, this took a turn and now it's literally cavalry for the stranded. Seeing as how they're now heading out to rescue Xera instead.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**

**P.S. Props to you for reading such a long A/N.**


	62. Barriers Broken

**So, a 100 point AP Calculus BC project, 140 point English project, and a 240 point research paper now out of the way… I think I can focus on the chapter now…**

**Hopefully.**

**Oh, and now I'm graduating.**

**Warning: Prepare those fluffy blankets and adorable plushies (Sky is making me do this) for there will be 'feels' in this chapter. Enjoy! :P**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 62: Barriers Broken

**Xera's POV**

The heated black steel in the reaches of my blade hummed through the air as I traced its length with my eyes, its shine all the more potent now like polished ivory in a waking sun.

How? How is it… that the moment I finally lose sight of my own mind… _she_ makes an appearance? It's not fair… It's never been fair.

Five years of asking questions. Five years of searching for answers. One year devoted to seeking her out. The following year devoted to burying my past. And all the years that followed… Atoning for what happened…

To take back her death at the expense of those that took her away…

And yet… I finally have a moment… to find all the answers… to banish the doubt in my mind, once and for all.

Yet, I don't take it.

Why? I grit my teeth and buried my feet into the shards of glass. Why am I such an idiot? Why couldn't I have just bit my tongue and reached out… see if she was truly there… or just an illusion…

Why do I always deny myself any solace, any consolation…

…It's because… in the end…

Did I care? Yes. But… I've built so many walls around myself… that in the end, I've only ever been able to let one other person in.

And show that one person who I really am.

I thought, for that small moment, that I'd discarded the past and actually opened up for once.

My legs tensed as I leaned forward, blade at my side, as my eyes dipped into the shadow of my bangs.

_Fear works to deceive. It's the conduit of death and desolation, a channel to bring about pain and anguish. It slices and dashes away the good, the bad, and the neutral. It has no preference, and festers in every living being… _My gaze turned upward as the glass around me hardened, glazing over again into solid ground as I took in the eyes of a creature who knew no fear.

It was a dremoha…

Second from the top of the chain of powerful grimm.

Time seemed to lag behind again, my eyes narrowing then releasing into a stare of indifference, before I straightened my back and gazed up into my tormenter in a new light.

Its own burning gaze paid careful attention to every move I made, and for the first time since it arose, it had a moment of uncertainty pass over its countenance.

_I'm not afraid anymore… If this is what it takes to force me to tear down those barriers… _I took in a deep breath and tightened my grip on my obsidian blade, _Then so be it._

The fire that the Drakon Leviathan engulfed me in still had a lingering trace of energy flickering over me, and I felt my aura trying to absorb it and make it its own. It wasn't enough to make up for the exertion I cast out across the reaches of the desert… but it was enough to give me the strength to fight.

The grimm seemed to narrow its own gaze now, and before the sound of clinking glass could settle, the entire ground shook again. A mass of black erupted from beneath my feet and I dashed to the side, rolling down from the upturning of the ground and entering a sprint alongside the rising tail of spikes.

Then, as if the desert of glass was a rocking ocean itself, the surface all around me broke and shattered in sputtering waves of dust and shards.

Instinct took hold of me and I dashed from one large shard to the next, keeping my pace as I continued my broad angle up to one of the massive rolling segments of its body.

The entire structure of it was aged and worn, ancient scales almost dusty and pale, but still as black as scorched ash. It columned out of the ground in a rapidly rolling hill as it plunged back into the sand.

_Simple blades bounce off it, huh? _I slashed with a blaze of fire at the front of my strike, my affinity doing little to its armor and my sword glancing off it at first. But as the mass continued to pass, I dug the sharp edge of my sword against its side and emblazed it again… bringing the heat up and watching as parts of my fire sparked in traces of green flame…

The corrosive dust imbued in Annivia's Talons seeped into the color of my fire, and I felt my blade slowly sear into the beast's hide.

_Good, but I need to be faster…_ The mass of black shifted and the ground beneath me exploded again as a new part of its body arose. My legs bent as I lessened the impact and balanced atop the razor sharp edge of its spine of fins along its back.

"How does someone like me fight a colossal beast?" I asked myself as I leapt off, dodging out of the way as the creature's head exploded out of the ground and sailed through the spot I had been previously occupying.

"Someone like you always has a keen sense of finding solutions." I rolled to my feet on the unstable ground, finding myself beside Leona again as more and more hills of black erupted around me, "It's in your nature never to give up. So, that only leaves one other possibility…"

I glanced at her and caught the warming smile that crossed her face, before we were separated again by another segment of rolling scales.

"Beat it." It was the only other solution I saw, but I had no idea how I was going to do it. My legs gave out yet again as the ground beneath me rose and burst with the upward lunge of the leviathan's head. The spines and blackened flesh beneath me writhed as it opened its maw again and lunged forward at my launched form.

But before the darkness of its jaws enclosed on me, I felt a sweeping warmth pass over my core and the rest of my body quickly following. And in an instant, my wings pierced through the back of my sweatshirt in their own explosion of fire and cloth…

Then they tore at the wind just in time to pull me out of the leviathan's closing walls of teeth.

The red glow in its eyes narrowed further as it snapped at the air, rising further to take another bite out of me, but missing me entirely.

There was a dull pain aching through my wings, but they were functional again. And with a quick roll, I dodged the creature's advance and dove down past its lengthy body protruding from the ground, digging my blade into its neck as I went.

But again, it wasn't anything more than a scratch.

"Xera, you have to let your emotions go."

I dipped away from the creature and arced away from the ground, looking to my side to find my mother, cloaked in black, flying beside me with her own expanse of black wings.

"Just like your eyes, your fire reflects your emotions. All those barriers you put up, you have to tear them down."

The leviathan dove back downward, and I narrowly split away from her in time to avoid the creature's deathly head slamming into the ground I was flying toward, burrowing right into its surface.

"I… I can't." _There was a reason why I put those up in the first place… they held me back… they stopped people from getting hurt… myself included._

"Your fire is a part of you. It's not a curse, it's not a gift, it was something derived from you, Xera. And you alone."

Her voice echoed into my ears as if the roars and the wails from below weren't deafening enough to overpower everything else.

"The Angels of Death may have played a part in digging that element out of your systems, but they didn't put it there. You're a pure blood phoenix… you were special from birth…"

"Then how come it's so volatile? So destructive?" I asked, diving in and out of rising and falling masses of black scales in an attempt to stay at my mother's side.

"Because you chose to think about the past, and the negative feelings you draw from it. It's alright to be angry, but you have to accept the fact that I'm gone… You have to open yourself up again." Leona's voice broke the stale sounds of battle, and I couldn't help but focus in on it, "Your flames don't just destroy, they can heal and save lives. You just have to let them."

"But what if I can't-" My words were cut off by an explosion of glass and sand, and the hill beside me erupted in another column of black. The vision I had at the moment had failed, and the whipping mass of scales slammed into me hard enough to throw me out of the air.

* * *

_The dry ground, ridden with ash and splinters, crushed beneath my knees as the remnants of our cabin lay still in the thick dead air of our home forest. The place I once called the happiest place on Remnant._

_The last place my separated family felt whole again. The last place where my mother took her final breath._

_It took a while to come back here, to steel myself long enough to make the journey after being taken in from the log I floated adrift with. Taken into Beacon, to a new home, by new people… People I didn't even know or trust yet._

_But… She knew them._

_And he knew her. He brought me in under the favors he owed her, Leona._

_A man who has so much power, so much control, a whole Academy under his name…_

_I took up a handful of ash and let it seep through my fingers._

_I'll never be able to call that place my home… am I, mom?_

_My first barrier enclosed itself around my heart, to ward off the pain, the anguish, to lock it all away in this moment of regret and remorse._

"_Life is fleeting; we find our grasp on it, yet it always slips through our fingers. But still, it remains our greatest pain. No life endures, for we only have time which is given."_

* * *

My back and wings impacted the nearest crushed sand dune in a rising dust cloud. The air I had in my lungs was torn out of my mouth in a ragged breath, but I had to keep moving. I rolled and flung myself into a spin using my wings to eject me from the ground.

Sand and glass shot into the air as the creature's tail slammed heavily into the place not but a few inches from my eyes, and I watched in adrenaline addled slow motion as a burst of shards scraped at my skin.

* * *

_Heaven's Grace… my mother's sword. Its crimson steel lay dormant in my hands as I looked upon its elegantly grafted form._

_A longsword, her preference in life above all other styles… Sheathed and stored within the deepest reaches of my heart and hidden away. Frozen within the center of the obelisk I built for her atop Mount Kenna._

_Protected by a prowling Zyther, day in, and night out._

_A constant reminder of her drive to protect her family, to protect me, a trait I try to carry through into myself…_

_Yet, here it is. Heaven's Grace, out of the grasp of time and fate, and in the clutches of etched ice and a capsule of crystals._

_My second barrier…_

"_Forsaken by fate, we are doomed to a certain destiny. Life is frail, for we cannot hope to live forever. Immortality is a dream, a dream no one truly wants."_

* * *

The hardened impact of scales struck me again as I collided with another rolling mass behind my evading form, sending me to the ground again. A trail of blood trickled down from the corner of my mouth, and I wiped it away with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

Its redness dried before evaporating away, my body glowing faintly like an ember in a pit of fire.

Before the body above me could surge down to crush my bones into the clutches of the desert, I lurched forward with a gust of wind and slipped beneath the archway of darkness.

Scales and spines passed by me as I swirled in and out of surfacing and burrowing spines, my sword still in hand as I lashed out at everything that came close to me.

* * *

_The obelisk, a gravestone built in loving memory of my late mother, atop a snowy mountain unreachable by normal means and protected by the first and only friend I've made since her passing…_

_Zyther, the one being I found I could put trust in, despite her trying to kill me the first few times I encountered the snow tiger._

_It was her home… and she let me in after some amount of time and effort…_

_My acceptance of my mother's death was the start of the growing hole within my flickering heart._

_A third barrier was built up alongside the obelisk, and was sealed with the etching of the words I engraved into its smooth surface…_

"_And yet, we pursue that which we cannot reach. We reach for that which we cannot touch, and we touch that which we cannot hope to possess. For we are frail, and in the end, we do not matter."_

* * *

Reality was almost seeming to crumble away as I weaved in and out of the rupturing sea of glass and sand. My wings carried me with speed, but their grace was abandoned due to the pain coursing through their battered frames.

I couldn't keep this up for much longer, not anymore.

When I banked for my next turn, my wings caught the air at a weird angle and I careened into the nearest wall of scales and hide.

The grimm didn't waste another moment, and before I could fall to the ground a second mass of black surged out of the desert and swatted me down. I blocked the impact as best I could with my sword, but the glassy sands met my back with enough force to drive my lungs into air deprivation again.

* * *

_The making of Annivia's Talons, using the theoretical process of Hot Aura Fusion inspired through my mother's own weapon and derived by my phoenix and AoD forced prowess._

_I built a weapon that both channeled my fire and my emotions. Bottling both into the hot steel of my twin swords to conceal them behind my layers of indifference, my desire to rid myself of those emotions ever again, I built myself a weapon to help me with that._

_A weapon that both followed in my mother's footsteps… and laid forth the foundations for my own._

_It wasn't until several years later that I finally decided to put into development the very first blueprint I designed. A replication of her crimson sword…_

_A mode for my own weapon that reflected the longsword she used to protect and train me for the entirety of my childhood._

_A forth barrier to further lock away the emotions I've come to despise…_

"_Life is uncertain; we follow a path we cannot see. We venture forth, a destination unknown to us. Foresight is a doorway to failure, a door that always closes at the brink of success."_

* * *

I made a move to get up, but the ground shifted beneath me and the grimm's surfaced body sunk into remnant. Every hill of black disappeared, slowly, back into the deepest reaches of the desert.

And I nearly sunk with it.

I climbed onto the soles of my sneakers and pushed my wings into working one last time. Pain stung every inch of my feathers, the pull of my muscles enough to send searing phantom burns throughout their unfurled lengths, but I managed to get a weak enough lift as to not be pulled into the churning sand beneath me.

"Focus, Xera. You're almost there…"

* * *

_Again and again, I watched a first year get harassed time after time for having two brown rabbit ears atop her head. I didn't care, I didn't want to care…_

_But, at some point or another, I cast my young thoughts aside when it happened again._

_I got into a fight, protecting another from harm. But my emotions went cataclysmic with seething anger I've kept locked away, driving me into a bout of memories and dread that forced an even more violent reaction out of the fires that reflected my every emotion._

_Heat poured out of me in an angry storm to burn half of Beacon's school grounds._

_A fifth barrier was built here in the aftermath, I wanted nothing more than to prevent the havoc I'd caused… and take back the burns I inflicted onto the person I was trying to protect… It was out of my control…_

"_Nothing is certain, for sureness will always be countered with doubt. We live to forget, rather than live to remember."_

* * *

Silence fell upon the desert again, nothing but the beat of my wings and the lapping of the Krono winds could be heard for a few seconds now.

My eyes traced out my surroundings in a flurry of recognition, before I was able to settle them onto the shadowed image of my mother.

Bathed in darkness due to the sun at her back, I couldn't make out the visage of her caring face or the paleness of her skin. I saw the glimmering of her hair swaying out in the golden light backing her, and before I could speak, she held out her hands and extended them out at her sides.

"This is your world, your life, Xera. When you're weak, lift yourself up. When you're beaten, don't let your enemy hold you down. Let the world see you as you are, don't give it a reason to believe your life isn't worth living."

* * *

_My limiter, the decision to endorse it and endure surgery and recovery to force my fire to reach a cap, a maximum limit._

_To chain down the relentless and unchecked emotions until they've been barred and buried beneath layers of barriers, time, and growing indifference._

_My sixth barrier fell into place here, only to have been broken in the face of recent events._

"_Life is unfair, it is the most unforgiving testament of this world. Placed in a timeline so infinite, we are insignificant. Rarely will our names be remembered, rarely do we leave behind legacies worthy of timeless meaning."_

* * *

"You can't just live life by surviving it. You need to give up on letting everything wash over you and simply letting it pass you by. If you do, then you truly aren't living…" Leona, for the first time since I've seen her again, reached up and carefully pulled the hood of her cloak down.

I finally saw her face… in full view of the rising light…

Her elegance and beauty brought in memories I buried a long time ago. All the dreams I had and forgot, and the times I thought back to my childhood only to blur it all away, they resurfaced.

Each and every one of them coming back in a single moment.

And for the first time, for as far back as I could remember, my eyes transitioned into a shining gold. A genuine feeling of happiness took me by surprise, and confusion.

The usual sky blue I've grown used to filling my eyes with, for sympathy and kindness I shared with those around me, to keep none for myself, had… for the moment… disappeared.

My mother smiled at me, and I could see her own golden irises. Her face radiated a kindness and joy I haven't seen since her death, and could only have ever been rivaled by the amber eyes I've grown fond of over the past few months of my life…

Someone as lost as I was, as impassive as I was to life's turmoil, someone I could trust despite finding the world around me to be incapable of understanding.

Someone as confused, as scared, as alone as I felt in a petrifying existence of darkness.

"Let me go, Xera. Don't regret what's happened. Blake will be there for you now in my stead, let her heal the rift you've dug in that flickering heart inside your chest. Let the family you've found in Beacon help you mend the scars of your past." Again, she smiled further and lowered her hands back to her sides.

* * *

_The seventh barrier came to be a year after her death… when I discovered a chest. A gift, left in the rubble of our small house in the woods._

_A gift, as she had put it, to emblazon me again by her embrace one final time. A chest of five elegantly crafted journals._

_All of which… addressed to me. With a letter handwritten by Leona, and five testaments of my dying will power, I nearly broke._

_My seventh, and final, barrier was put into place to keep the shattered pieces together._

_I poured my life into those journals over the years, and upon the date of her death every year, filled the last page and locked each journal away into the very same chest I found them in._

_And placed them next to her grave at the peak of a mountain closest to the reaches of the sun and the stars._

_Each trek was getting easier, but, at the same time, unbelievably harder… up until the last journal I received as a gift after her passing…_

"_And yet, we still try, we pursue that which will destroy us in the end. No matter the path, even time will stand against us. Life is precious, it is because of this that we fail to grasp it."_

"_It hurts us, because it is so easily lost. It destroys us, because it can be so unfairly taken away. We live to forget, because we do not wish to remember. We do not look ahead, because we fear what we will see behind us."_

* * *

"Bring the world back into the light it once had upon its creation. Take it back, take it all back to the peace it was once intended to possess." Leona spoke with no falter to her voice or smile, and for a moment, I caught a glimmer of light in a stream running down her cheeks.

"I love you, Xera. And there's nothing that will change that. Nothing in existence, not even in death will that change." Her form started to float backward with gentle flaps of her own wings, and I made a move to fly forward to meet her, but stopped at a shake of the head.

"Your life is yours now, my job's done. The chains have been broken." She turned, slowly and softly, and addressed me one last time out of the corner of her eye, "Good luck, my little phoenix."

And before I could deny, accept, or so much as move.

The ground beneath me erupted again, shattering the silence of the world and billowing sand and glass into the sky at all sides of my hovering body.

And with the shattering of the world… my barriers, the walls I worked so hard to build up and lock myself away…

Shattered alongside it.

My view of Leona was forcefully torn away, and the Drakon Leviathan's body resurfaced in an encasing range on each of my sides. Their rolling hills of spines and shimmering scales tore into the sand before coming to a standstill.

The next thing I knew, the spiny tail of the beast beneath me stormed out of the ground and tore me down to the rough surface below. Its black end tightened around my leg and pinned me in place on the sandy ground at the center of this colossal dremoha grimm.

I stared as the massive head rose out of the ground in front of me again, sand slipping off its sharp angular appearance as its grip seemingly tightened. It flashed me an angry snarl, before opening its maw yet again and pulling back.

My movement… gone. My evasion… impossible. It had every intention to tear me limb from limb for reasons I still didn't know.

My gaze looked past the creature's preparing strike, but couldn't catch sight of Leona.

She was gone.

All that was left, was this creature I was at the painful mercy of.

"I'm sorry mom…" I spoke, near inaudible to anyone but me, "But I can't just let you go."

I drew in my sword from my side and slid my free foot forward, planting it into the shards of glass as the leviathan's head lunged in at me.

My eyes flashed then glowed in a powerful hue of red, I wasn't going to insult my friends, my family, or my mother, with letting this overgrown serpent take my life away.

Black bangs drifted out of my vision, kicking up from a rising source of energy as I slowly pulled my sword around and to my left, straightening it out before… in complete silence…

I slashed it forward and across my body the moment the creature was about to engulf me.

A shine brighter than the core of the sun trailed out of my blade, and as I grit my teeth and dug my heels into the sandy ground, my aura flared then burst.

A rumbling roar of searing heat and destruction detonated from my swing and impacted the side of the leviathan's head, throwing its snout into the ground at my side before I reached around and jammed my sword into its tail.

Its muffled screech, the first sign of pain since I first encountered it, rumbled through the ground as I severed the appendage holding me down.

Annivia's Talon was emblazoned by a heat with an external temperature that rivaled that of a blazing inferno. My wave of fire that shot out of me crashed against the creature's hide as I lifted softly into the air, listening as a sickening chorus of searing flesh was sent into the sky before the creature pulled itself out of the ground.

It made another lunge for my back, and in a swirl of fire, I turned around and stabbed my sword through the roof of its mouth…

Then, in indifference and suspended quietness, I flew up and placed my hand on the tip of its sharp nose.

And in a cold, remorseless voice, I spoke.

"…Incinerate."

* * *

"_We take life for granted, even though it is so dear to our dependent souls."_

…

"_Yet, life remains, we strive to break the chains that hold us. We fight to survive an unwinnable battle. We work to enlighten, in hopes of finding miracles. We suffer greatly, to ensure that the lives that connect us hold strong."_

"_It is in these fleeting moments, those which we grasp at most, where we finally see the truth."_

* * *

"You know… In my case, I'm starting to think he has the greatest emergency flare anyone can possibly hope for." Dante commented off handedly as he stood by the opening of the bullhead. The rushing winds tore through the chamber of teens, but his eyes were trained on the horizon, constantly scanning the desert scape for anything unordinary.

"What makes you say that?"

Perhaps the one with the longest hair of them all, Tai Blackthorne, asked as he leaned back in his seat lining the inner wall of the front side of the chamber.

"Because, I keep sensing fluctuations of Aura coming somewhere from the west." Dante responded.

Coco tilted down her sunglasses for a moment, her current endeavor into loading her weapon with ammunition pausing, "And how is it that a stranger like you can sense something like that?"

"Due to my Semblance, I developed a way to sense other people's Aura signatures or the presence of high concentrations of dense energy. If I know the exact nature of a person's Aura, I can practically track them down over extremely long distances."

"So basically, you're a talking scroll tower on legs…" Came Coco's response.

Dante glanced back at his temporary teammates and shrugged his shoulders, "More or less." It was actually less, but he didn't feel the need to correct her.

Fox and Yatsuhashi stood to the side by the other open door, holding onto the built in handles as they scanned the opposite horizon. Fox being the only other person there with a high sense for aura signatures.

"I'd say he's more of an annoying sonar scanner." Destiny commented as she flew up to Dante's side. Her black hair tugged behind her by the rushing winds from her perch atop a giant eagle, Soarix.

"You're not wrong..." Dante shrugged, dismissing the rebuttal he thought about giving. The annoying part… now that was pushing it a bit. But there were days he gave in to that snarky side of himself simply to provide him with some sort of humor to relax himself.

"You see children," Dante started as he turned to his allies in the ship, "The wolf is most certainly considered hostile in some cases, but deep down in all that fluffiness and scariness is the desire to be lov-"

Before he could finish that sentence, he felt a gust of pressurized air hit him in the back of the head with enough force to rock it forward, the teen being able to only smile victoriously.

_Ten points for me…_

"Well, in any case…" Tai spoke up, his tall and slim figure stretching out as he grabbed the nearest handle and leaned slightly outside the aircraft. "Ace says he's picking some commotion up on his equipment."

"Oh, so our pilot has equipment better than Dante?"

"Not a chance." Dante corrected, "I've been picking the same thing up for a few miles now."

"Yeah, yeah." Tai responded with a dismissing glance over his shoulder, "We're heading there now. So get ready."

Soarix screeched into the air at that, "We've been ready. But thanks for the heads up." Destiny spoke over the rushing winds, continuing her relative flight beside the bullhead.

Tai leaned back inside the bullhead and turned back to Coco, eyeing her as she rotated the barrels of her gattling gun and fed it the start of her bullet chain.

"Like what you see?"

The taller teen held up his hands defensively, "Sorry, didn't mean to stare. That's quite the gun you have there."

"Nice save." Coco responded with an invisible role of the eyes.

"No, seriously. I was looking at the gun."

Lies.

Coco smirked though, as she lifted her heavy weapon up a bit and placed the heavy drum-magazine onto the floor, "It's flashy, destructive, and currently in the meta for color and mechanisms. So, feel free to look at it all you want. Just don't pretend you're not staring at me."

"Coco, I really do think he was staring at the gun."

The accented voice of Velvet spoke up from her seat at the end. Throughout the ride, she'd been holding her rabbit ears down due to the constant pull of the rushing wind, but recently she finally grew used to the uncomfortable variable.

"Whatever, I was just messing with him. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Tai." Coco said with a small smile, reaching across with a slimly gloved hand.

Tai took it with his own smirk, "Nice to meet you too, Coco. And you, Velvet."

Introducing himself to the girls of the group last wasn't exactly his initial plan, but they were certainly the hardest to approach. He'd already introduced himself to the rest, at least.

"Listen, the reason why I was staring at your gun was because I might have something that can help. Especially in a situation like this." Tai said after letting Coco's hand go.

"Oh? And what makes you think I need help?"

"You don't. I know for certain that you don't need any, but this is just a fix to help with some accuracy differentiation. With how the bullhead moves, it'd be hard to stand up here and fire straight." He defended himself with ease as he crossed his arms.

Coco glanced out the side of the bullhead, and for a few moments, felt the harsh rocking of the entire ship due to turbulence in the desert winds, "What did you have in mind?"

Tai nodded and extended his hand. The tails of his sleeveless black trench coat stilled in their fluttering for a moment as a disruption in the air in front of him tore open.

Out of his semblance rift fell a military grade highly modified M60D mounted machine gun. In short, it wasn't as big as Coco's own gun but it had the parts necessary for what he had in mind.

The heavy clunk of the weapon drew in the eyes of everyone else on the ship, but Tai paid them no mind. He knelt in front of his new arrival and disconnected the gun itself from its mount, then let that fall into a new portal he summoned at his side.

"Here we go, it'll take a few minutes but I can effectively modify this mount to be able to connect and support your own gattling gun. For now…" He lifted the heavy stand and moved it over to the side Dante was on, he then held it close to the door's open frame and the floor.

With a push of a button, arms folded out from the stand and high powered magnets powered up. Then, with some satisfying but heavy thumps, he secured the mount to the door and floor and set up the swivel system, "There we go, think you'd mind using this if we have to enter combat?"

Tai glanced back at Coco and her weapon, and she sent a shrug back, "I guess, since you're already setting it up. I might as well."

"Way to be prepared there, Tai. From what I'm sensing, we'll definitely need the fire power." Dante said with a smile, glancing at the mount Coco was currently bringing her gattling gun to.

He watched for a few moments as they started tweaking the stand to become accustomed to Coco's larger weapon, then turned his attention back to the desert outside. His entirely bandaged right arm and hand in the black sling began to twitch with a small burning pain, forcing a silent wince out of him, one that Destiny managed to catch a glimpse of.

"_I'm seriously curious as to what caused that Destiny… Especially if he's still feeling it…"_

_Which is why it's weird Fate… He's immortal. His wounds regenerate at a near instant rate without the usage of Aura. So what caused him to damage his arm and still have it severely damaged? He can barely even move his own fingers…_

"_I have no idea at all… Maybe he'll actually tell us the real reason if we ask again? He's always a sucker for the whole 'I actually care what happens to a friend' thing."_

_That wouldn't be right… Morally at least. If that's the case, then I guess we'll ask him again when we get back. Maybe, with Xera here, he'll say something…_

* * *

Cold.

The dim lights of the hallway flickered momentarily, before they clicked back into their light again.

"You inquired as to what miss Stowe left out." Ozpin started, the dull click of his cane echoing off the silent white walls as he walked.

"Yes. What exactly has she left out?" Inuba responded, her poise straight and her fluffy tail resisting the urge to curl around herself.

She was disciplined.

The cold did not deter her-

A cold shiver ran down her spine, and she resigned herself to the cold by taking solace in the fluffy warmth of her tail that wrapped softly around her waist.

_This chill… Why does it feel so familiar? So… dark? It's not an ordinary sensation of cold…_

"She left out, quite frankly, one of the more important factors of this predicament." Ozpin sighed, and it wasn't until now that Inuba heard a glassy crunch beneath her feet.

_Black Ice?_

"You see, it was the very reason why Xera is out in the desert. Why his team took a mission so far out of the territory of Vale itself." His cane's tapping was becoming distant, for some reason, and was starting to get lost in the thick atmosphere lingering in the darkening hallway. "Have you ever heard of the story about a man with two souls? Both fighting for control?"

Inuba merely nodded as her eyes drifted over the black ice webbing across the walls and ceiling, their clawing reaches even running in veins along the tiles of the floor, "I know the story all too well…" She began as she recalled the previous memories of what occurred to her master before their coming to Remnant.

"Sir, does this happen to involve a Dark Entity?"

"Unfortunately, I believe that is the case." Ozpin said, coming to a slow stop in front of the furthest door of the hallway. A dark frost dusted its handle, and the glass peering into the infirmary room was nothing more than a thick sheet of icy obsidian.

"Was this what you wanted to show me?"

Ozpin nodded his head, and gestured toward the handle with the top of his cane, "Do mind the cold. The metal is quite cool to the touch, and the ice makes every attempt to engulf anything it comes in contact with."

"Right." _This confirms my suspicions from earlier…when I felt that presence deep within the academy. I wonder if master felt it as well…_ Inuba quietly reached out with her pale hand, and covered it in a light sheen of white flame. She then hovered her hand over the handle, unsure whether or not to touch it yet, but taking in the fact that the black ice was refusing to melt.

So, she pushed more flame through her hand and opened the door with a quick push. She flinched lightly from the loud crunch of the door as it opened, but immediately turned her gaze onto what resided on the inside.

"Welcome to the infirmary room of Zerath Stark, miss Kitsukami. From what I have gathered, I believe that you may just be able to help him." Ozpin said passively, stepping into the room with a calm demeanor settling over his countenance. "I fear that, for now, you are all that we have to save his life. Or at the least, preserve it."

* * *

**Rawr.**

**I find it difficult to write an emotional chapter of sorts. So, yeah. Let me know how everything went. Due to Xera's indifference, it wasn't like most other emotional breakdowns or the like. This one is more of a realization and getting rid of a burden that's been weighing on his soul for quite some time now.**

**In order for him to truly use his affinity, he has to gain control of his emotions. In order to do that, he has to break down the barriers he's built up over the years and open himself up more to the world around him.**

**That was the whole point of this chapter.**

**Those little quotes at the end of each memory were parts of an Elegy I wrote in relation to Xera, by the way. I thought they fit rather well.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	63. Burn in Hell

**Rawr.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 63: Burn in Hell

**Third Person**

A blast of heat erupted from Xera's palm and body, smoldering outward to engulf the head of the Drakon Leviathan before rushing down its countless spines and searing its scaly flesh.

Again, the creature screeched into the heated air, and for a moment… Xera wondered if he was doing any lasting damage at all.

Fighting fire with fire, often times, was a viable strategy. Of course though, if you fought literal fire with your own fire, you'll only be making a larger fire. In this case, one's fire can potentially be hotter than the other… And since Xera made it out of this grimm's fire breath without sustaining any damage at all…

It was safe to assume which of the two had the hotter fire.

Though, that's excluding all additional effects Xera's flames have.

Xera flew back and dodged out of the way of a whipping tail, maneuvering himself through the air with a quick burst of speed before gliding fully around the Leviathan's extended neck.

"Just how tough are you…" If Xera left, what would happen with the Drakon Leviathan? Would it go back underground? Or, would it wander to the nearest populated area?

If he were the cause of letting this thing wreak havoc on an unsuspecting village, or even a city…no, he didn't even want to think about that right now.

He was staying, and if that meant killing this creature… then he'll just have to find a way to kill it. If anything, he could easily outlast it.

Xera's wings furled inward before he took a sharp bank, barely avoiding a quick tumbling surge of black flesh and coming to a sudden halt to evade the encroaching lunge of the serpent's fiery maw.

"Weaker, maybe?" He dipped down into a dive then swooped around to level off parallel with one of the creature's surfaced bodies. Its flesh seemed dryer, and slightly more cracked, so maybe it was easier to cut…

With a quick draw of the blade, Xera jammed his sharpened steel into the creature's side, but all that did was shave off a few chunks of dried scales as if it were stale pottery.

_Well… that went well…_

He pulled back as soon as he took note of his attack dealing no damage, knowing full well not to get greedy with any of his strikes. The moment he drifted back into the sky, the ground beneath where he once was ruptured and revealed the growling throat of the Drakon Leviathan, glass smoldering all around him as sand dust turned to crystalline shards.

_This thing releases heat? Not just through its breath, but through its flesh? Its body? _That… actually made a lot of sense. This thing must be smoldering on the inside, like the heart of a dragon from mythological lore in Remnant. It could breathe fire, which meant building up enough heat on the inside then igniting it somehow on the outside.

_Which means… if anyone other than someone like me were to get eaten… they'd be burned alive before they even got the chance to break out… _Not just that, but this thing's scales must be absurdly hot. And that alone is enough to outclass most hunters from fighting this kind of grimm.

_That also explains how it can literally swim through land. _Since its flesh reached highly dangerous temperatures, it meant that it also melted the ground as it moved through it. That alone would bring the heat it exudes to somewhere much higher up on the scale, reaching a point where it gains the property of melting most ores and all the bedrock it comes into contact with.

_Now I definitely can't let this thing roam anywhere outside this desert…_

This thing was strong, very strong. He knew Dremoha grimm were powerful… but wasn't there a class above this? He… he didn't know how strong the next ones up must be.

From what he's read the next class, the Omega class, are leagues ahead of the Dremoha. There was a huge gap in the ranking system, and that alone was enough to scare off almost all grimm hunters from even considering searching for one of the top-tiered creatures of grimm.

_For now… I guess I'm stuck with killing you, Eyes of the Dawn. _Maybe that name was a little too beautiful… for a creature of this destructive aptitude.

Xera had to throw himself out of the way with a rough flap of the wings as the Leviathan's tail surged out of the ground again, but as soon as he evaded, another segment of the creature's body emerged and sliced through the air beneath him.

With a quick reaction, he flipped outward and slid just down the side of the surging body of spines, keeping himself from losing a huge chunk of aura.

Only for the creature to slam it's forehead into him from below, crushing him into the side of the surging mass of black before letting his momentary limp form fall toward the desert ground.

* * *

"Found him." Dante muttered, blue eyes snapping open as he turned his gaze to the north-west. In the distance was a bright shine of white and orange, almost blinding him the moment he looked at it.

"What's with the glare?" Coco asked, leaning outside the door and gazing through her sunglasses at the bright light in the distance. "Is it reflecting off of something?"

"I don't see how it _could_ be. It's not likely that there's a giant mirror out there, right?" Tai asked, noticing the bright light shining into the open compartment of the bullhead. He was making some final adjustments to Coco's temporary gattling gun door mount, so he only spared a glance outside the vessel's opening.

"Maybe it's scraps of metal from a bullhead or airship crash site?" Velvet offered, standing alongside Coco.

"Most crash sites get salvaged." Dante said, "There's a lot of valuable resources put into most airships, so whenever one crashes its scraps are cleaned up as soon as possible to be recycled into a new one."

Coco turned her eyes to the outwardly leaning Dante, then glanced back to the light, "Then what do you think that is?"

Before any real answers could be figured out, the shadow of Soarix emerged from the blinding light as the large eagle flew around to the bullhead's side.

"It's glass!" Destiny called out, her hand holding her long raven hair behind her ear as she turned to the crew inside the bullhead's body.

"Glass?"

"Yeah, the ground's completely covered in it. That's what's reflecting the light." She further informed, though she didn't quite know what could've caused it.

"Fire." Dante spoke up quickly, "It's how glass is made. If you expose sand to a high enough heat, you'll cause it to reach its melting point and then harden into an unpolished glass."

"Isn't it mostly filled with imperfections and colors at first?" Destiny asked.

"Not if you use a level of heat that far surpasses what's needed. That basically purifies it, creating a clean, lightly colored, and reflective surface." Dante responded.

"And how much heat is that, mister smart guy?" Coco asked.

Dante only smirked and turned back to the fashionista, "At least more than 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit, Coco. But that's extremely hard to do in a non-focused area, let alone a few miles spanning across the desert region of Vacuo."

"Usually fire loses heat the further it's dispersed." Destiny added in.

"Which means, if that wasn't Xera, then we're up against something that has a huge aptitude for fire." Tai concluded, passively listening in as he finished up his fine-tuning on his setup.

"I have a summon that can help with that. He won't be able to do much damage, but he'll at least be able to shield us in case there's a large burst of fire." Destiny said as well, pulling a little on Soarix's feathers to keep her in a relative line to the bullhead.

"G-good, we'll need everything we can get." Velvet was the one to respond, causing Destiny to send the bunny a quick flash of a sweet smile.

_This is exactly why I've been keeping quiet! _Velvet internally squealed. She wasn't much for speaking up on her own, but when someone else cared enough to develop feelings for her? Then actually make the effort to get her to talk more openly with people? It was a little embarrassing… but she was glad Destiny wanted to help her social status as much as she did, and more.

She just wasn't sure yet about how she felt about the wolf-faunus.

"Alright kiddos, looks like we're nearing the edge of the glass. You ready?" Ace's voice clicked on over the speaker as the ship flew closer to the blinding light.

"It'll be over in no time…" Dante replied.

"Yeah sure, says the guy with white hair." Coco laughed.

"Hey! White hair's not that bad."

"Just don't look directly at it when it's sunny out."

"Says the person with sunglasses on."

…

"Touché."

Dante smiled to himself as he let his hand fall to the handle of his blade. He needs to make quick work of this thing. If what he and Inuba sensed was accurate, then they didn't have much time. And Xera was someone they couldn't solve this issue without.

He's the greatest counter to what Soul-Slasher has… but above that, he's the only person out of everyone that could possibly navigate the depths of where they need to go.

_Guess I really do have to make quick work of what's out there._

"ETA forty seconds. Eyes up kids, we're going in." Ace's voice sounded out before the speaker system clicked off, and the bullhead tilted forward to gain a little extra speed. He then flicked a switch, and pressed a button. Starting the track to one of his favorite songs.

"Oh my god…" Said the white haired teen in disbelief.

"What?"

"He's playing the song! This man is brilliant!" He replied with enthusiasm.

The blinding light had become overwhelming now, especially at the border of the glassy desert. But as the bullhead passed through the saturating wall of pure pale glows… it was as if they entered the realm of a frozen ocean. But beneath its surface… looked like rolling flames of hills and swirling lights.

That… wasn't the most noticeable part.

Beneath the surface slithered a writhing mass of black. A massive body of darkness beneath the depths shot across the land beneath the glass, swirling in long, fluent movement, before coiling up in certain places and slamming out of the ground, shattering the glass there in sparkling clouds of shards.

* * *

Xera leapt backward, having been grounded for the past five minutes. He heard the bullhead coming, and unfortunately, was forced to slip his wings back into the confines of his battered black sweatshirt to keep some sense of secrecy.

But at this point, it may have been a dangerous decision to limit himself like that.

Another mass of black surged out of the ground, and he swiped his blade forward again in another blaze of fire. It streaked yellow before the air in front of him became scorched in a searing heat, followed by the Leviathan's screech within the ground from his attack.

The whistle before the explosion was satisfying to his ears, but he made sure to role to the side as soon as he could to avoid a counter attack from the creature. It seemed to be able to sense him, wherever he was, whenever he was close to the creature's body.

He didn't quite know how it did that yet, but he didn't stand in one place to find out.

With a quick step, he leapt off a thick surface of glass and started sprinting his way around the creature in the ground, trying to predict where it'll surface next.

But as he listened to the rumbling of remnant, he also started picking up on… something else.

_What is… I can't believe what I'm hearing… _

Xera slid to a sideways halt, much like an ice skater would, before taking off the other way. Where he had been running suddenly upturned in a massive shattering protrusion of black scales, and two smoldering red eyes.

Even the creature's head twitched momentarily before it turned its head upward, looking into the sky and behind it.

All throughout the air, echoing off the rocks and the glassy hills, sifting through the cloudless sky like a wave of sonic vibrations… boomed the loudly playing song that once accompanied an armada of modified Blackhawk Bullheads back before peace settled over the kingdoms of Remnant.

The Ride of the Valkyries.

And no, Nora was not involved.

_Aaaand, here it comes…_ Xera felt the tempo rising as the booming speakers got closer and closer, and as he realized he'd distanced himself quite enough, he turned around just in time to see a flash of light reflecting off of Coco's sunglasses… before the barrels of her mounted golden gattling gun started turning.

"Somebody call for the cavalry?!" She called out in a loud voice, before a storm of bullets rocketed out of her gun and slammed into the Drakon Leviathan's head.

The stream of bullets continued in a countless line of destruction as the bullhead swung around the Leviathan's side, circling around it to keep Coco's sites on it as it approached the airspace over Xera.

"Take that you overgrown worm!"

The force of the high caliber bullets forced the Leviathan to dive back into the surface of the ground, fleeing from the continuous barrage of metal-plated non-explosive mini-missiles.

Xera then looked up in time to see three shadows fall from the sky, and turned behind him to watch as Dante, Velvet, and Tai landed heavily onto the ground and stood up from varying forms of crouches.

"Hi, Xera." Velvet said with a small wave.

"You called?" Dante added with an amused smile.

"Yeah, but you were supposed to help Zerath, not me." Xera replied.

"That would've happened… but we actually need you for this one." Came Dante's reply.

"I have _no_ idea what you two are talking about, but we should probably do this later." Tai said with a smirk, before he dragged a few fingers through the air and summoned another rift.

Out of it dropped a heavily armored octagonal box, painted completely black with dark purple highlights throughout its panels. Upon impact its corners made an unsealing pop before they expanded and jutted out about three feet before slamming down.

Then, the box rose as joint like knees in the middle of the appendages bent outward to support the heavy object. In the next few seconds, the entire body seemed to disassemble and shift as panels slid and overlapped to reveal two rising gattling barrels, each one pointed forward with red sensory lasers beaming to life to scan the surroundings.

"Impressive, did you build this?" Xera asked, taking a moment to eye the impressive work of machinery.

"I did."

Dante stepped forward and scanned their surroundings quickly, before turning back to Tai, "You showed me that in town recently. But, did you solve the whole targeting issue?"

Tai snapped his fingers and gave the white haired teen a thumbs up, "You bet. It should work just fine now."

"Cool, so it should come in handy." Xera said, peering into some of the panels and checking out the internal wiring.

"It should, but we won't know for sure until it starts shooting."

Xera gave a small nod, then turned to the three of them, "Alright then, thanks for uh… coming. I guess. But, we need to kill this thing."

"Well, we can't exactly let it roam free…" Velvet added on.

Dante made his way over to Xera's side and pat him on the back, "I wouldn't have it any other way. With all of us here, and air support from Coco, we should stand a pretty good chance against this thing."

"Yeah, well, just watch for any breath attacks. There's nothing you can do if you find yourself anywhere in front of this thing when that happens." Xera said.

"Will do."

Another shadow suddenly swooped over the surface, and a giant eagle swept just above the ground as Destiny leapt off its back, "The Leviathan's swinging back around. Looks like it's coming back for all of us."

"Thanks for the heads up, and good to see you came along, Destiny. And Fate." Xera said, as he turned his own eyes to the new arrival.

"Good to see you too, but this grimm isn't going to wait for us to finish talking."

"It has so far." Xera offered.

"He has a point." Dante agreed.

"Guys…" Velvet muttered, her rabbit ears twitching slightly as she glanced around her.

"Yeah yeah, it's _here_." Tai commented, summoning out two heavy pistols. One a modified gleaming silver .357 calibrated pistol, and the other being a twin ebony pistol of the same model. However, this one had a much larger barrel to it, and seemed to be fitted to fire .50 caliber rounds.

Both of which seemed to be modified to match a streamlined version of a desert eagle handgun.

The ground beneath them began to crack lightly, the sands beneath the glass starting to vibrate subtly as a shadow beneath the surface began approaching them from a distance.

"Guess we should get ready…" Xera sighed, then drew his black longsword.

"Coco's going to hate me for this…" Velvet's accented voice spoke out, as she reached behind her and detached her brown and gold box from her belt.

"Have you tested that yet?" Xera asked.

"A few times, but it's still in prototype form. So, no promises." She replied with a sheepish smile, before withdrawing a similarly designed camera from the box, "Now, smile for the camera."

With that voice, it was hard not to.

She snagged pictures of almost everyone's weapons as they drew them, then she took one final photo of the mechanical sentry turret beside Tai.

"All set."

"Good, let's hope it works."

_I've seen it in action, I know it works! But… I wonder if her prototype will be as good as her finished version… _Dante wondered as he glanced at her. He was the only one who hadn't drawn his weapon yet, mainly due to its complexity.

Velvet simply didn't have the technology to actually copy his weapon. In fact, it's more likely that collecting the data would lead to her camera having a database overload and shutting down. Which would render her combat prowess as useless in this upcoming fight.

"Incinerate all pain and oppression, Kimura." Destiny spoke her usual words, and just as the ground began to superheat again and shatter in a small area to allow the reveal of her three headed Cerberus, the ground in front of them shattered and erupted in a much, much, larger fashion.

"You all keep your distance, and Dante, keep an eye out for its tail. Other than that, just keep dodging." Xera spoke quickly, then began sprinting forward. Dante followed suit, drawing his frost white longsword as he ran and caught up to Xera's side.

Almost immediately afterward, they heard two concussive blasts shake the air. And as the two ran forward, Tai unloaded his hand cannon's into the creature's head as two separate streams of bullets impacted the Leviathan's neck.

One coming from the air, and the other coming from the dual gattling barrels hammered into the ground at Tai's side.

"Well, I guess it really does work." Tai commented with a small chuckle, reloading his pistols by dropping them both into their own respective rifts, then letting them fall back down through two new rifts above as he drew two clips from his belt.

Velvet stopped as she just started running forward, hands on her belt and near her box, as she turned her gaze back, "Wait, you didn't actually know if it would work?"

"I had a vague idea, but never got the chance to test it."

…

"Okay… what if it didn't work?"

"Then I would've deactivated it."

…

"Right." Velvet nodded slowly, before shaking her head and taking off again. Her run was followed by the clawed charge of a fiery three headed hound, and she let out a small yelp as Destiny reached down and pulled her up onto the back of her Cerberus.

"Sorry honey-buns, but you'll be riding with me. Hold on tight, yeah?" Destiny gave the girl a moment to settle in, then as soon as Velvet tentatively reached around her waist, she willed Kimura to surge forward again and catch up to the others.

* * *

"Alright, so you got a plan, right Xera?" Dante asked as the two up front cleared the distance between their starting point and the grimm.

"…hit it until it dies."

Dante laughed a bit at that, "Come on man, seriously?"

With a cheeky smile, Xera shrugged his shoulders and flexed his hand gripping his sword, "I don't really have one for this thing, not yet anyway. But everyone needs to keep their distance whenever possible."

"Why's that?"

"This thing gives off heat like a forest fire. Get too close, and you'll burn. Get struck by this thing, and you'll get the same treatment. Just don't get hit, and don't get too close, and you'll be fine." Xera turned his gaze to Dante for a moment before concluding something, "Actually, _you'll _be fine. The others though…"

"They aren't exactly heat retardant like we are…"

"Yeah… which means they all have to keep some amount of distance."

"Alright, then you and I can just finish this thing off up close while they all stay back and bombard it."

"Easier said than done. This thing's scaly hide is like a suit of armor. But if I can heat it up enough…"

"You might just be able to crack it."

"Exactly. Revealing some of its unprotected inner flesh. Once I do that."

"We can deal some serious damage."

"Yup." Xera nodded, then dug into the glass with the tip of his sword to quickly change direction, "I guess that's the plan. Until I can figure out a way to generate that much heat, we'll just have to entertain it with bright lights and flashy maneuvers."

"Sounds easy enough!" Dante called back as he split the other way, dashing the opposite direction Xera went.

_Easy, huh?_ Xera ran off, digging his sneakers into the glass as he felt the surface closest to the Leviathan crack and shatter. This thing's tough, he knew that. But for only two people to engage it up close, while the rest are forced to keep their distance?

That brings down the damage per second by a large margin…

Despite those two being himself and Dante, it still might not be enough.

The colossal grimm soon let out a screeching wail, shaking the shards of glass all around it and across the land as twin streams of hyper-accelerated dust imbued bullets stormed through the air…

And the music that followed.

"Ha! Can't handle the cold?" Coco called out with a snarky smirk, Ace taking her around the Leviathan's front as Tai's sentry gun did the same.

His own bullets shining a very similar blue hue.

Black masses started lashing and thrashing, eviscerating the immediate area in a burst of heat and fire from its throat. Its piercing red eyes glared through the quickly rising cloud of evaporating fog, snarling with a heated snout.

"Damn. Looks like frost isn't doing so much anymore…" Tai muttered, but he kept up his sentry gun's stream of bullets for now as he opened up a new portal. His twin pistols dropped solidly into its ripple, before a larger one tore open above his hands. "Time for a little power."

* * *

"Alright Velvs, stay close to Kimura. If this grimm lets out any bursts of fire, he'll be our shield." Destiny called out as she dismounted her Cerberus.

"What are you going to do? You heard Xera, we can't get close to this thing."

"Who said anything about getting close?" Destiny said, before pulling out Albus again and calling out for her next summon, "Wash away the taint and sins from the world, Nagga!"

A swirling vortex of water soon emerged and spread over the glass in front of her, echoing out screams of forgotten and lost souls as one- no, two- five serpent heads emerged, followed by a large dragon-like body to support them.

Sharp scaly fins swept through the air as the hydra glided up and out of its watery confinement, using the air as its new domain just above the ground.

"Let's see what water can do to this thing. Nagga." Destiny said, causing Nagga to screech into the air and glide forward. Four of its heads reared back before surging forward with a twisting torrent of rushing water, all twirling beams of liquid merging before slamming into the Leviathan's hide.

* * *

Another screech swept out through the air as steam quickly filled the area. The veil of white was quickly whisked away as Dante charged through the cloud before him, making a leaping strike for the Leviathan's head.

He tore his sword through the air and lashed out, his massive leap giving him all the leverage he needed to put a deep gash through the creature's left eye before landing with a tumble.

"Who knew the Leviathan's hottest part of its body would be its head…" Dante said, clutching his left hand around his blade a little tighter and ignoring his smoldering bandages wrapping his right arm. The unique metal in his blade shimmered in the light for a moment, that and his skin being the only things to withstand the grimm's extra heat.

"I guess it can't swim without a hothead." A mass of black tried to slam into him from below, but he quickly leapt forward and slashed at the passing hide, slicing deeply into the scales.

If this thing melted the land first with its head, it made it easier for the rest of its body to swim as well once the initial resistance was gone.

"If this thing wasn't so large and annoying, that'd actually be really cool." Dante said, before spinning around and holding the flat side of his longsword solidly at his front, right in time to block a line of rapidly surging spines from one of this thing's backs.

To his right, he saw another shadow dash through the thick steam caused by Nagga's continuous burst.

"There he is."

A black streak tore through the air, splitting the steam in a solid trail, before orange flames kicked up and raged upward around the form in the veil of white.

Black bangs lightly lifted into the air as red eyes streaked their very color inside of Xera's movements, then the fire swirling around him burst outward and sent the phoenix into the air. Flames trailed up tightly beneath him before dying off halfway as he reached his mark, and drove the edge of his longsword into the neck beneath the grimm's head.

The heated steel tore through the beast's hide and left a scorched fleshy gash right beneath the serpent's jaw.

The moment though was short lived, as the mass in front of the teen slammed forward and threw him down toward the ground.

"Gotcha!" Dante called out as he dashed and jumped again, throwing his sword into the air and reaching out his left hand. Xera noticed the glimpse of white and reached out, catching the other teen's hand mid-air and causing the two of them to whip around from the sudden loss of momentum.

Though, the glassy ground met the two of them much more softly than what Xera would've felt.

"Thanks, and lemme guess, two more seconds?" Xera asked, casting his gaze upward after finding his footing and balance.

"You got it." Dante said with a smirk. Approximately two seconds passed before he reached out and snatched his falling blade by its handle.

"Do you always show off?"

"Only when I need to."

* * *

"Thanks for the opening, Xera." Tai pulled the trigger, a sudden concussive blast following it from his prone position as he skidded back just a few inches. The sound from the sudden explosion rang through the air as smoke and bullet filled the space in front of him.

A twenty-nine inch barrel, forty pounds of Barrett M82, and a whole lot of force… Tai's anti-material sniper rifle kicked back as his .50 caliber BMG ammunition snapped through the distance between him and his target.

Sand and glass shards were pushed aside as the bullet sailed into the newly revealed flesh that Xera caused and straight into the Leviathan's throat, tearing into the soft material within.

The ripping of flesh was soon followed by a muffled explosion, rocketing black bits of flesh and metallically whining fragments of a bullet out of the beast's wound.

The rifle's recoil operated rotating bolt slammed backward, sending out a smoking golden shell before slamming in a new round.

"Nine shots left."

* * *

"Heads up, this thing's angry!" Xera called out.

"No! Really?! I had no idea!" Dante replied.

Both teens dove off to the side together as the creature's head lashed around wildly, screeching in agony as it clenched down on the grievous wound inflicted by Tai's rifle.

"We need to keep it still, and keep marking new targets for Tai to hit!" Said Xera as he ran forward, Dante following suit and keeping to his side.

"Right, but we can't let this thing see where Tai's position is either!"

"Good point." Xera turned and caught a glimpse of Destiny and Velvet in the distance, "Destiny! Nagga needs to keep up that steam cloud!"

Destiny's eyes seemed to switch over to lock with his for a moment, before she nodded and swiped her hand through the air. The land beneath Nagga suddenly swirled and bubbled, before boiling water churned beneath it.

Then the hydra started a lengthy barrage of columns and blasts of water, causing the area around them to kick up in steam once more.

* * *

"What can I do?" Velvet asked, hands tightly gripping her gold and brown box at her side. "I… I have to do something… _anything_…"

"You know, fighting isn't the only thing you can do in an encounter." Destiny said.

"That's not the issue, though. It's not that I _can't _fight, I just don't have enough information _to_ fight."

"Information?"

"It… it involves my weapon and how my semblance works with it. I have the information on the weapons, I just can't replicate the moves yet. But…"

"Do you have anything that'll work that doesn't need the moves with it? You took a picture of Tai's sentry, didn't you?"

Velvet's ears suddenly perked up and she quickly pulled her box around to her front while slipping the strap for it off her shoulder, "Right! It's inanimate… so I should be able to replicate the design I scanned."

"See? You can help out too. Now hurry up and get that turret up honey."

Velvet shot a red-faced glare at Destiny, only causing the wolf in question to smirk and send the rabbit-faunus a wink in return.

"You're hopeless…" Velvet sighed as she dropped her box to the ground and held her hand over it. She focused her mind and tapped into her semblance, then tensed her fingers to start the manifestation of light and energy through her weapon. Before long, a digital rendition of Tai's sentry gun rendered in at her side, completing itself with a wire-frame of glowing blue lights.

"Impressive."

"I'm just glad it works." Velvet quipped, before her sentry gun started unloading aura versions of the ammunition compatible with its barrels.

Destiny suddenly collapsed down to one knee, her split focus putting enough of a strain on her that she had to keep herself supported on the ground.

"D-destiny? This is why I told you to take it easy!"

"Isn't this taking it easy?"

"Fighting a grimm that outclasses you in the middle of a scorching desert is taking it easy?"

"…I have support here too?"

Velvet gave her 'friend' a solid glare. She wasn't quite sure exactly what Destiny was to her, but she knew they were teasers, just the kind with warm hearts and good intentions, "This isn't taking it easy."

"W-well, I can't just leave Xera behind like that. No way, you know how I feel about that."

"But-"

"It doesn't matter!" Destiny suddenly interrupted, taking a moment to take a few deep and ragged breaths, "If I can lend a hand, even if it's not much help, I'll do it! I won't let anyone else die on me…"

Velvet growled before sliding down to Destiny's side, "No one's going to die, alright? And if you expect me to take your blatant refusal of any of our medicines lightly and storming out here to get yourself killed, then you're even more selfish than I thought you were!"

"You giving me the pills with your mouth is the only medical procedure I feel comfortable with. And then maybe a little more of it even after the pills are gone…"

"T-that's… that's insane!"

"Then I'll keep refusing the medicine." Destiny said, but her distaste toward medicinal methods wasn't exactly for the reasons she was displaying right now. If anything, she hated them for an entirely darker reasoning.

"…you really are selfish."

"S-selfish?" Destiny asked, looking over her shoulder.

Velvet hmphed with an annoyed but pleading expression, before she reached around to her side and dug into the medical supplies she had on hand, "Wouldn't it kill you to stop and think about how others would feel if you got severely injured for their sake?"

"Fate and I do-"

"Just… just stop talking and focus on your summons. I'll try my best to keep your aura up and stable." Velvet interrupted, using a quick aura stimulant on Destiny before pushing her own aura into the wolf-faunus's back through touch.

"_Awwwe, look! She's opening up to you! You know what she REALLY meant by 'others'."_

_S-shut up, Fate._

…

_I need to concentrate._

* * *

Several more deep gashes had been inflicted into the hide of the Drakon Leviathan. Six more dug deeply into its battered neck, while the last three stung thoroughly right beneath the grimm's right eye and across its face.

The two swordsmen below circled around again for another combo attack, but it wouldn't have it.

Every portion of sand and glass around the Leviathan melted and swirled, black masses of spines and scales lashed dangerously around in a painful cluster of rage.

Dante blocked as much as he could as Xera dipped and dodged beneath each surging blur of darkness, before the Leviathan's tail slipped out of the ground and blindsided him.

Moments later, Dante was sent skidding backward by the Leviathan's neck. The creature swung around and threw its entire mass into him, knocking him back with Xera as the two teens tumbled across the rough ground.

They both then planted their shoes into the ground and grinded themselves to a stop, sliding to a halt just in front of Kimura and the two girls behind him.

"You good?" Dante asked.

Xera took his black sleeve and wiped it across his mouth, cleaning away a small trickle of blood streaming down the corner of it, "Yeah, but we can't let this thing escape. We have to keep attacking it."

"Then we keep attacking it." Dante said, leaning forward before falling into a quick dash.

_Yeah… but what good will it do if we can't kill it?_ Xera took off as well, catching up to the running teen in front of him, "We can't just keep attacking it blindly."

"We don't really have much of a choice right now. We're too far separated to make any plans, not unless the two of us think of something." Dante replied quickly.

"We'll have to, but right now, we can't get hit again either. Once this thing disengages from us, it'll go after the rest."

"They won't be able to survive being close to it…"

One thing the two of them noticed, that should have been obvious before, was the lack of oxygen. This creature burned so hot that it created a strong updraft of heated air, sucking away the majority of the oxygen in the area that's necessary for breathing.

It's the main reason why the two of them weren't able to keep up with this thing.

If the heat didn't bring down their friends… then the lack of breathable air definitely would…

Xera was used to high atmospheres and low oxygen levels, Dante had his instant healing and superior bodily functions to survive on his own without the need to breath as well, but no one else could say the same as these two.

The two teens dashed in again, sliding and leaping over the first emerging arc of spines before regrouping and slashing through both sides of a towering body structure.

All around them, surges of more and more parts of the creature's body slammed outward and inward, trying to catch the teens with a heavy crushing blow.

But before any of them could make contact, Xera noticed something beneath the depths of glass at their feet. The Leviathan was corralling them into a tighter and tighter area… but…

Where was its head?

"Get out, now!" Xera whirled around. He didn't care how immortal Dante was. He didn't care how quickly he was going to heal. Out of pure instinct alone, Xera slid himself low to the ground as his sweatshirt tore slightly between his shoulder blades.

Before Dante could say a word, twin blurs of sleek black shot out from Xera's back. Two ebony wings rapidly unfolded at a blinding speed as the curled up structures shot straight for Dante's chest.

Without warning, the white-haired teen was sent skyward at an angle, straight over the spines of the encroaching walls, and just before the ground beneath Xera tore itself apart.

A fuming column of molten fire spewed upward in a combustive explosion, bursting out of the ground and straight into the air. Searing heat scorched the glass as it towered upward like a geyser of flames, and within it, Xera's form was sent hurtling into the air and straight through the clouds above.

"Xera!" Dante yelled, watching as Xera disappeared behind the dry wisps in the sky. He didn't have time to watch any further, as the ground beneath him crushed his legs into a tumble, and was forced to grind to another halt off to the side from all the rest.

_What was he thinking?! That idiot… That attack wasn't even remotely close to being able to kill me… It might have tickled a bit, but he didn't have to do- _

An ear-shattering wail shook the ground as the Drakon Leviathan's seething head emerged from the ground. Its left eye was slashed out, only leaving its right eye's angry red glow. Its form easily towered higher and higher into the sky as it moved backward…

Before its gaze snapped to Nagga and surged forward, taking the hydra into its maw before completely chomping down on the summon.

_What is it- Oh no…_

A breath of hot air streamed out of its nostrils as it cleared out the blanket of steam in front of it, and then glared at what it saw behind the wall of white.

Dante had already started sprinting as the creature reared its entire head back. A snarling gargle escaping its throat before all blockage was cleared away in a long, loud, suspenseful intake of air.

A dull orange glow began to fester in the back of its throat as the cracks in its underbelly began to glow brightly as well.

_Not good, not good, not good! _Dante managed to make it over to Kimura and leap over the Cerberus as it planted its paws down to form a wall, landing behind it to the girls crouching on the ground. "Get behind me!"

He quickly positioned himself in front of them and focused a substantial amount of aura in front of himself as a barrier of numerous white aura longswords formed to defend them from the creature's attack.

His hopes?

Whatever Kimura didn't take, he'd have to deflect or take himself…

* * *

Wind.

The rushing air tore at Xera's clothes as he found himself plummeting back to remnant… again.

Smoke and heat withered at his clothes and streaked from his heated skin, trailing behind him as he opened his eyes to the clouds below.

_Why?_

He gripped his weapon tightly in his grasp as he fell, _Why is this thing so hard to kill?_

The ringing in his ears was starting to calm down, but the unmistakable sound that soon started to become clearer and clearer to him…

Took hold instead.

_No… no… It knew?! It knew I was immune to fire… and the second it got rid of me… it uses its massive breath of flame! _Xera slashed through the air and spun around, _I'm not going to fall fast enough!_

_I can't get there in time!_

_They'll…_

…

_They'll die…_

This wasn't some small breath attack. This was a major scale desert wide sea of fire! If the flames don't kill them… the scorching heat that they create will.

There will be nothing Kimura can do. Nothing Dante can do. Not against a storm of fire that completely engulfs whatever lies in its path.

_I…_

…

_I have to… but… _Xera slammed his eyes closed and growled into the air, _Damnit, they'll die! Just do it!_

He didn't care if the world saw it.

If it meant saving his friends down there, then there was nothing else in the worlds that could stop him from trying.

A sharp tearing sound ripped through the air as portions of black fabric littered his vision. Adrenaline then addled his mind and muscles as he opened his eyes and turned his gaze upward toward the clouds.

Angry red eyes narrowed as his wings all but exploded out of his sweatshirt, shredding it completely before slicing through the air and propelling him downward.

_Faster…_

The clouds split and trailed behind him as he saw the Leviathan just finished building up its attack.

_Faster…_

Another burst of air surged him down even faster, breaking through the barrier of sound as he used the loud shockwave created from it as an even greater burst of speed.

_Come on! Faster!_

Terminal velocity was long since reached and exceeded, fire was released then spread out, and he could see the light of destruction start to bellow toward his friends in a roaring tidal wave of flames.

* * *

A blur of black plummeted from the sky like an orbital released bombardment, cracking and shattering the glass across the ground in a widely spanning rippling implosion of sand.

The wall of fire then crashed into what kneeled in the center of the crater…

Then completely blew upward as if it had crashed into an unbreakable wall. The massive torrent of flames shot outward and into the sky, before every whipping light began to swirl and bend inward.

Trails of yellow and orange wrapped around Xera's form, storming around him like a supernova gathering before combustion.

_Just… save them…_ Xera split his weapon in two as the fires raged, quickly seeping into his body as he felt his energy rise. The broken legs from impact, the wounds, the bruises, the gashes and cuts that covered his body…

They all completely healed and vanished.

An even brighter shade of red glowed from his irises as his black wings fanned outward behind his crouching form.

_Nobody else is allowed to die… _The flames kept growing and feeding into him as the sea of fire began to slow and drain. An overwhelming amount of heat passed over everyone behind his silhouette within the flames, but nothing more was allowed to pass.

_Not now…_

Annivia's Talons shifted and folded as he held his twin blades out to either side, the inferno before him crawling to a stop as the last of its power was fed straight into his aura.

…_Not ever._

"I'll never make the same mistake again…" The phoenix muttered as the glow faded from his eyes.

He slowly stood up from his low position, his wings flexing with his movements as he stepped forward.

"I couldn't forgive myself it I let that happen." He continued to speak in a lightly echoing voice, walking a few steps closer to the Drakon Leviathan before him.

"Xera!"

His name was called, but all he did was cast a sideways gaze over his shoulder, his right wing dipping slightly to reveal the safety of his friends across the desert behind him.

One red eye then locked with a set of blue, and Dante knew what Xera was about to do. What _he_ had to do…

This was their one chance.

Xera turned his gaze back to the colossal serpent in front of him and poured his aura into his blades, "Confused?" He asked, looking up into the wide red eye of his adversary.

"I would be too… if my most powerful attack did absolutely nothing…" Xera said with a slight smirk, before taking his ebony blades at his sides and bathing them in a golden fire.

"…If only you could hope for the same."

Two blades were hurled out through the air, streaking in solid golden lights before embedding themselves behind the Leviathan's right and left flanks. Their bright glows shined beneath the rising sun as Xera took a deep, slow breath.

Causing the flames to glow a little brighter.

The black pupils of Xera's eyes suddenly sparked with golden flame, then those fires spread to emblazon his entire body as his energy, and those of his weapons, surged and flashed.

"…Burn in hell, dremoha."

Blazing lines of gold caught fire and streaked out from Xera and the two embedded blades positioned in a large triangle surrounding the creature of grimm. Their golden shines burning brightly as they connected to each other and amplified the aura link between swordsman and his weapons.

And just like that, a shine as bright as the evening sun split the air in silence before the crystalline roar of a celestial column of fire erupted from deep beneath the Drakon Leviathan.

Then what followed… was a blood curdling wail that screeched and screamed from within the golden light.

Xera's fire instantly chipped at the monster's hide, searing it completely as its entire body became engulfed by the surging tower of energy.

Every morsel of energy Xera pulled from the Leviathan's attack was poured right back into this counter move, and as Xera's aura decreased, the golden shine of his flames dimmed back into the burning color of orange.

The crystalline hum fell dully back into the roar of Xera's column of fire, then even that seemed to thin out and become smaller.

Before long, Xera collapsed back onto his knees. His wings pushed downward to curl up and press against the ground in an attempt to support him as he let out a shaky breath.

The light in his eyes died as his flames dwindled then dispersed.

What was left behind was a severely scorched and cracked Drakon Leviathan. Once solid hide was now brittle and crumbling away, revealing more and more inner flesh as its entire body shook in bouts of pain.

Smoke tumbled from the spanning cracks across its entire form as it bent and arched its body in excruciation.

"…Xera?"

Everything around him went grey, as time seemingly came to halt. Something within him seemed to click off, then another seemed to click on… as if something switched inside of him.

He looked around him weakly, turning to look over his shoulder as he saw everyone and everything still and motionless. All matter and energy frozen in a timeless slumber…

It was in that now frozen expanse of time, Xera saw Dante staring at the ground in front of him. His knuckles were white from the tight grasp he held his white weapon in, before something…

…Dark, faded into view.

Dante felt a clawed hand grasp his shoulder. His mind was flooding as it was, but he looked behind him to make sure it was who he thought it was.

In the time-warped space he suddenly found himself, he could see a figure that took on the form of his Shadow Skin, glowing white eyes and lines on the blackened body that resembled vicious segmented armor. His ever demonic long horns present on his head that bent inwards before bending outwards.

Then in a cold, chilling voice, the Proxy Dante spoke.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?"

"Why does it look like you're taking a beating?"

"Because that thing's been a bit of a pest, that's why. And if I don't mind everyone else around me… They could die."

"Use it." The Proxy Dante suddenly said.

"Use what?"

"Have you forgotten? It calls to you, it sings your name, can you not feel it?"

"It… calls to me?"

"Call upon it! Unbury the ability you've forgotten, bring it back! Take it up, and take down this pest before you. It's time, Dante…"

"Time? But… how? If I've forgotten…"

"Reach out, Dante, and you will sense it. Call upon its name, envision it, for it's the other that will carry you through annihilation and decimation…"

"The other…"

"Just like you and I, there are twins to everything under creation."

"Twins?"

"Go… call upon its power. Do it now, Dante! Bring back the power your past has forsaken! Take it back into your hands, and deliver destruction to your foes!"

Time resumed and Xera watched as the specter merged with Dante. White aura outlined in black suddenly blazed around Dante's body in obscene amounts, the teen soon opening his eyes to reveal the whites of his eyes had turned black and his irises a glowing white.

The creature took note of Dante and immediately slithered backward, as if expecting a similar force as it had just endured.

Xera began to recognize what was about to occur, and remembered back to the last time he had spoken to Dante. In the forge room.

They had done something. Dante had shared his memories with him… and it was starting to become very clear as to what was about to happen.

What would happen should he and everyone else remain in the area.

He could only chuckle quietly at that, "Looks like… he really doesn't want to be outdone… doesn't he…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he felt and saw a set of clawed and scorched claws skid to a stop beside him. And when he looked up, he quickly took notice of both Destiny and Velvet staring down at him.

"Xera?! What wa-"

"We need to get out of here."

"What?"

"We have to… get out… as fast as we can…" Xera suddenly blinked hard, and wondered why his vision was starting to become blurry.

Blotches of white started to speckle his sight before it started to become harder and harder to keep them open and active.

"-era?"

Before he could collapse to the ground, Velvet hopped off Kimura's back and caught the phoenix, "What do you think he-"

"No time!" Taking heed of his warning, Destiny reached down and pulled both Velvet and Xera up onto her Cerberus's back, then turned the creature around to sprint the other way. She too once had access to the sharing of Dante's memories. And when she looked back momentarily, she too soon understood what was about to occur. Xera sat limply between them, but his wings seemed to still have a small sense of protection in them, seeing as they lightly curled forward and wove tightly into Kimura's fur for support.

The girls then did as asked, and bounded past Tai, Destiny sweeping a hand down and pulling him up onto her three headed wolf as well as they created as much distance as they could between them and the Leviathan.

In the distance, Dante plunged his sword into the ground and removed his right arm from the sling he sported, the same right arm that was now covered in his Shadow Skin.

"Inuba's probably going to be upset about this… but… right now… there's no choice. I have to do this."

The teen soon removed his sword from its place of rest as the last of his wrappings fell in tattered remains on the ground, his extreme amount of aura beginning to condense and gather around his blade, forming a massive torrent of continuous energy that tore through the sand until he grasped his blade with both hands and raised it high over his head.

"Devouring…" The creatures realized its fate, then made a rapid move in to try and finish off the teen before he could possibly unleash anything at all. It was about to make contact with him when everyone turned back and looked in worry, but not Xera, and certainly not Dante.

"…LIGHT!" As he swung down, Dante had discharged a colossal tidal wave of white aura outlined in black as tall as the lunging creature itself, the large roaring wave crashing into the beast as it resulted in a blinding explosive blast of aura.

The energy discharge roared like the crystalline hum of a thousand lions, vibrating through the air as the light itself seemed to engulf the entire area in front of Dante's now shadowed form.

Violent quakes followed the devastation, forcing Kimura to nearly stumble as almost everyone shielded their eyes as the creature let out its last screams.

As the explosive quakes came to a halt, they opened their eyes to see the remains of the massive grimm dissolve into the desert air, black wisps dissipating into nothingness as it all drifted away into the faint breeze.

In the distance, Dante dropped his sword into the ground as it planted itself point first, allowing him to use his left hand to support himself to stand.

His right hand was still in its Shadow Skin form, hanging limply as it now gave off a loud sizzling noise. Then the Shadows surrounding his arm began to slowly dissolve away.

"Serves… serves you right… you big mouthed… moron…"

* * *

**Dramatic? Maybe a little. Actually, no. That was very, very dramatic. In fact, this entire Leviathan arc has been nothing more than dramatic intensity. Well, I hope that at least makes up for how long these chapters have taken.**

**In all honesty, my motivation has been fighting with me. Same with the whole 'humans need rest' part of my life.**

**By rest, I mean both sleep and leisure time. Since I've sorta been running myself dry lately.**

**Aaaanyway, hope you all enjoyed it. If I don't get around to it soon, then I hope I remember to get around to it. But there's a reason why Xera's blades were able to do that and link so solidly to his aura.**

**Remember how they were made?**

**Yeah, I didn't think so. But he used an ultra-rare and personally customized forging technique called 'Hot Aura Fusion' or 'Aura Forging'. This is the thing that I hope to explain later on, since its very… very useful.**

**And, also, entirely canon. Like, it's actually most likely possible to fit in the canon lore and be an actual thing.**

**I go into detail about it, don't worry. I always do… I guess…**

**Before anyone thinks Xera's OP yet, please keep in mind that he was only capable of doing that because he's been absorbing heat and fire this whole time. He's been slowly building up his aura and fire affinity up until that last breath attack, when he absorbed it entirely. That sent his power to some very high thresholds.**

**Which was displayed by his golden flames. Those have a big purpose later on, but for now they're just golden flames to you guys.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	64. I missed you

**Alright, for those of you wondering if Xera is becoming OPOP super ham destructor decimator… well… no, he isn't overpowered. Not yet anyway. I'll explain what took place in the previous Leviathan arc through this chapter… hopefully.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 64: I missed you

**Third Person**

White streaks of ethereal flames danced through the darkness of the encroaching room of ice. Black crystals lined its walls and floor, seeping into the very fabric of matter in a cold embrace of lingering dread.

The very air in the infirmary room felt heavy, thickening at the very presence of a darkened soul bound by chains.

Inuba's pale flames trailed behind her hands as she moved through motions of elegance, tearing her fire through the veil of the atmosphere as she performed her ancestor's variant of a traditional Japanese dance.

"Be silent, and still, o' creature of the Dark." Her voice echoed off the chilled walls as her breath crystallized into the air in front of her. The usual crimson eyes she donned were closed behind pale skin as her frost white hair lifted and trailed beautifully behind her every motion.

"Return thine consciousness to the Abyss from whence thy came." Balancing now, she slowly brought one leg up before placing it perfectly in front of herself. Her tail then twirled loosely around her legs as she opened her eyes to a crimson glow… and a spark of white flame.

"Kitsukami Secret Art: Slumbering Warmth."

Immediately, a white light emanated from her body as its rays of piercing energy bathed the entire room in a pale glow. It was then that the encroaching ice began to recede… ever so slightly… back toward the bed that sat darkened in the center of the room.

Yet, even that did not halt the expanding field of black ice.

It did nothing more than cast a deep slumber upon Zerath's mind.

With that done, Inuba Kitsukami took a deep frozen breath before she twirled around and began her next enchantment.

"Damnation and ruin are thine sins of the blackest nature, o' creature of the Dark." She said, her tails trailing in a bleary white flame as the rest of her body began to channel the more potent words she was steadily enforcing.

As if her very words burned through the flames of her energy and redefined themselves with new meaning.

New power.

"Cleanse the corruption that burns thine soul and repent for thou devouring existence. Kitsukami Secret Art: Repentance Barrier."

White flames flickered off her skin as she pressed her hands forward, her dancing coming to completion, as a new glow filled the room once again. Its shine illuminated the frosted windows for just a moment as the more powerful spell bound itself to the Dark Entity slumbering within Zerath's body and mind.

_Please, buy time for master and Xera to return. Soul-Slasher must be restrained… _Inuba then let out a stable breath, the fires around her simmering down as she lowered her hands to her sides.

The spells she used should restrain an entity of a lower power aptitude than her. He shouldn't be able to escape. There was simply no real way for him to. He was a Lord Class after all… not King Class. The next step up is the only Dark Entity classification capable of breaking out of these binds.

"Please, hurry… master. Zerath's mind is fading…"

* * *

"Glynda, take a look at this." Ozpin spoke calmly. He then flicked the video feed from his scroll over to his desk and let its holographic projector cast its image up into a hovering panel above it instead.

"What is it?"

"Mister Azil sent this in as soon as he landed with the rescue team we sent out to collect Xera." He explained as the file started to play.

On-screen was an aerial display of Xera, clothed in black, stepping toward the behemoth of a monstrous grimm.

"A Dremoha? Out there?!"

"Yes, it appears to have risen out of the desert." Ozpin said, pausing the video there. "However, it would've taken an immeasurable concentration of vibrations and tremors to reach that far beneath the surface of Remnant."

Glynda placed a hand on her forehead as she closed her eyes, glasses dipping toward the ground as she let out a restrained sigh, "Miss Stowe informed me of something that could have caused that…"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, glancing over his clasped hands toward the woman before him.

"Xera broke his limiter."

Those very brows suddenly furrowed and Ozpin found himself standing, his chair already toppled over across the ground behind him as he planted his hands onto his desk, "He… did that?"

Glynda only nodded, "It was only a matter of time."

"True… but he's supposed to request for the key to do it." Ozpin muttered, running a hand through his white hair as he took a breath, "What he did was incredibly dangerous… and reckless."

"According to Miss Stowe's report, there was a large concentration of grimm in the area. All of the avian species, however, were damaging the bullhead they were using to escape." Glynda said, turning her eyes back to the headmaster, "He did it to save them. And in order to do it, he had to break the limiter somehow."

"Somehow… I guess after all this time, it must have grown unstable. Given how many years it's been implanted. Xera's affinity must have far surpassed its possible containment." Ozpin concluded, "It must have been something akin to popping an over enlarged balloon…"

"Are we really bringing metaphors into this?"

"Yes." Ozpin responded firmly, he hasn't even reference coffee yet. "Besides, there's… something else that you should see."

With that, he tapped the glass of his desk and let the video continue playing.

The dim lights of his office and quietly ticking gears were all suddenly overpowered by the blinding golden light emanating from the video feed. Among it was the screeching of the Drakon Leviathan… and the steady and powerful crystalline hum of Xera's golden flames.

"When could his affinity produce golden fire?!"

"That… is a very good question." Ozpin sighed, letting the feed run through. The bright golden column of flames soon transitioned into orange before dying down completely.

He turned back the video and paused it at the peak of the solid golden glow.

"As far as I can conclude, Xera reached a threshold in his power that evolved whatever flames he possesses into that of what you see before you." Ozpin explained, placing his hands back on the glass as he leaned toward the image. The visage of his face seemed ominous in the golden shine of the holographic screen, but it soon dipped into a contemplative neutral one in the following moments.

"If that's the case, then how come we never predicted something like this from his aura?"

Ozpin stayed quiet for a few moments, mulling over his thoughts in an attempt to find an explanation, "His aura has always been immense. Whenever he's faced with an opponent stronger than himself… he consistently seems to delve deeper into it and draws on the strength he's granted from his phoenix heritage."

"It would explain why he was able to beat Miss Xiao Long in my combat class…"

"That and what you see here. However, I have a theory as to why his power suddenly escalated as immensely as it did." He further continued, "We found out that Xera's affinity is connected directly to his aura. The flames he uses need fuel. That's where his aura is used."

"Yes, but how is it that he had access to so much of it just now?"

"That's where my theory comes in. You see, I wonder if it works both ways." Ozpin said, leaning away from his screen to look out over the expanse of Beacon once again. Night had already fallen, and the shattered moon above illuminated his campus once more for his mind to relax and ponder.

"Both ways? You mean…"

"Precisely. Not only does his affinity draw on his aura as a source of power. But his affinity also works as a catalyst for drawing _in_ power and converting it into aura. From there, it's just a cycle of using it as it draws in more and more."

"He must have been passively doing that the whole time…"

"Indeed. Legend has it that the dragon of the Krono Desert can exude fire like a burning sun. Its very skin can smolder and scorch the lands, allowing it the ability to swim through the very depths of Remnant itself."

"Which would mean Xera had consistent access to an unbelievable amount of heat and flames."

"Through the Leviathan's own attacks, and even simply being near its hide, he was able to convert that energy into his _own_ energy."

"…how long was he fighting it for?"

"It appeared to have been all morning."

"That… would explain the impressive scaling he displayed with his aura and affinity."

"It would, yes." Ozpin replied confidently, resting his hands together behind his back as he turned his head, "He expended all of that power he gathered up from the Leviathan in that final attack… allowing for Dante to finish it off."

"Dante? He's back?"

"It would appear so." Ozpin resumed the video, and Xera soon collapsed to the ground. He alongside everyone, with the exception of Dante, were pulled up onto the back of Kimura and carried away from the fight. Then, something else happened.

On-screen, the Leviathan seemed to lunge toward the white haired swordsman, but all around the point of impact flashed a blinding white light. The Leviathan was suddenly engulfed by that very glow, followed by a shockwave that visibly pushed back any loose sand and glass in the immediate vicinity.

The audio cut out there. Whatever Dante unleashed, it must have blown out the recording equipment of Ace's bullhead.

"He has even more power than we knew of before." Ozpin said, letting the video run its course.

"You mean _new_ power." Someone else's voice suddenly spoke up in the quiet room, followed by a soft tap of dress shoes and the flexing of a tuxedo.

Glynda sent a glare toward the intruding blonde, "How many times have I told you. _Call_ before you teleport in here."

The man only sent a smirk back at her as he crossed his arms and approached Ozpin's desk.

"Ashton." Ozpin turned to the newcomer and nodded his head in greeting, "How much do you know?"

"More than you, apparently. That right there was power he didn't even know he had." Ashton said, pointing to Dante on the holographic screen.

"And… how do you know this?"

"Because I got to know him after the tournament." Ashton replied evenly. Though, the true reason behind this was something he'd rather keep secret. He and Dante shared that little memory exchange a while back… something that revealed everything he needed to know about the young man's past.

It… wasn't something to be shared with anyone so openly.

Even if it was Ozpin and Glynda.

"So, not even Dante has realized his full potential?"

Ashton let a smirk cross his lips as he eyed the small digital figure before him, "…not even close."

Ozpin could only pick up his chair and situate himself back onto it, letting all this information sink in as he reached out and grasped his coffee mug from off to the side, "Let's… just focus on the present for now. Where are they?"

Glynda looked down to the tablet in her hands and swiped across it, opening a few new windows before accessing Beacon's database and security cameras, "Mister Blackthorne has split away from the rescue team. Xera's been admitted into the infirmary. Dante and Miss Echols are headed toward Zerath's room, where Miss Kitsukami is located. The rest are all gathered in the waiting room… well… except for one."

* * *

**Xera's POV**

You know… it's always a weird feeling waking up after passing out. Sometimes you feel fine. Other times it just feels like you just got hit by a truck.

I think this was one of those times.

Though, it wasn't so much the pain and soreness that stretched across the majority of my body…

But more so the lightheadedness and intense hunger… yeah, for some reason I was really, really, hungry.

The rough and thin fabric I felt against my back and covering my body was enough to tell me that I made it into Beacon's infirmary. That and the heartbeat monitor beeping at my side.

Slowly, I began to crack my eyes open to take in my surroundings.

The paleness of the room and the lights above were bleary for a moment, but they quickly fell back into focus the more I blinked and looked around.

The curtain was closed and looped around the base of my bed, only leaving a shimmering crack of light down its center. I could make out the machines around me and was surprised to only see I was only hooked up to the heart monitor and an aura stimulant.

Nothing serious.

I then closed my eyes… _How many people… saw them? Did… everyone… _A slow breath left my lips as my wings shifted against my body. My black sweatshirt… it had torn on my way down from my dive.

There was nothing left to hide my wings after that. So, there was no doubt that the people who came to rescue me… all knew that I was a faunus.

But… what happened after that?

My wings shifted again, or at least, I thought it was my wings. A warm, uneven pressure on my chest started to shift a little more, and I quickly realized what it was.

Opening my eyes again, I glanced downward to see that familiar black bow atop ebony locks of silken hair. And beneath the fabric I knew resided those adorable cat ears Blake was so persistent on hiding.

_She must have found out I got put in the infirmary again…_

Blake lay comfortably at my side. Her head rested softly on my chest while the rest of her body curled up on top of the blanket that was strewn across the top of my own body. One of her hands was placed slightly open and strewn in front of her pale face…

While the other was nestled in one of my own hands.

The shifting I felt earlier started up again, and I watched as Blake slowly lifted her head. Her amber eyes fluttering open soon after and locking with my own.

"Hey."

For a moment, she merely blinked and did nothing else, "…you're awake."

"Well… unless this is a dream." I responded.

Her hand suddenly grasped my own a little tighter and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "I go out into town for one night… and that so happens to be the time I come back to see you unconscious again. I thought that was just supposed to be a recon mission."

Now that she said that, I realized her outfit's changed from the last time I saw her. Instead of her usual attire, she was wearing a white v-neck zip-up shirt that revealed her pale stomach. Its color scheme though held a lot of similarity to what she usually wore, since the fabric was black along the bottom. The shirt had mid-length sleeves, and I noticed her belladonna flower emblem printed in off-white on her left side.

"It was, but I made a call to go in."

She pushed herself up a bit, using one hand to support her upper body as she arched her back to look down at me, "Why? You risked your life. Your team's lives… even your instructor's…"

Her curled up legs were covered in new black pants, grey stripes going down the outer sides of each leg, and a black belt. It… looked like she just got back from a mission herself.

Something that involved combat.

Thin black socks adorned her feet, and behind her belt seemed to be attached long, shaped, pieces of fabric that extended from the inner side of it. I then saw a pair of belt strapped high-heel boots off to the side of my bed, and they seemed to be lengthy enough to reach halfway up one's calves.

_She looks… really good in that._

"If I hadn't… we wouldn't have the information we need to help Zerath. He… entered critical condition soon after the tournament."

Her eyes softened a little, but somehow they still maintained their critical and definitive gaze. Just… more forgiving this time.

"You still made a reckless call. What if it didn't work? It was still a huge risk."

"The necessity outweighed the risk. Besides, I trust my team… I knew we had a strong chance of making it in and out."

"In and out… but still at a great cost. I… saw what condition half your team is in."

_They… still haven't woken up? _I turned my gaze away and glanced off to the side, taking a moment to consider unplugging that repetitive heartbeat monitor just to allow my waking mind to think, "Skyla and Rex."

"Actually," My eyes turned back to Blake's, and I watched as her ears beneath her bow folded a little, "Skyla recently woke up too. She didn't sustain much damage from the explosion."

"You know about the explosion?"

Blake nodded her head, eyes darting to the side for a moment as her grip tightened on my hand, "Allix told us."

_Both Allix and Skyla are fine. _I felt relieved to hear that, but there was still the question of the big guy's health. He took the majority of that blow for his partner… the least he could do is survive and accept her thanks.

"Rex is stable as well. They got him into the infirmary as soon as they landed, he should make a full recovery." She further explained, "You got lucky."

I could only spare a small smile at that, "I get lucky pretty often."

"That's not something to bet your life on." There go her amber eyes narrowing again.

"Hey, I met you didn't I? The night we met was incredibly random and a chance at best."

She narrowed her eyes a little more, but I think that was just an effort to fend off the small blush rising to her pale cheeks.

"Besides… there was another life in there that I needed to save." I said, changing the subject again. That kitsune girl… the faunus… they were trying to replicate what they did to Zerath and I, with her. And from her time-logs, they succeeded but weren't able to wake her up after the treatment.

Then they just abandoned her to slowly die in a watery grave.

"The white fox-faunus. I haven't visited her yet, but I hear Inuba spent some time healing her."

"That's good. How come you haven't decided to see her?"

"I've been… busy…"

"Busy?"

Blake let out a small breath before she rested her head back onto my chest, "We decided to go into town with team SNAR to try and find anything on the White Fang's whereabouts and plans. Sun, Rideat, and I… we snuck into a recruitment rally."

Nothing changed in her tone, so I started assuming nothing major went wrong, "We got discovered and were chased down by one of their stolen Paladins."

_Great, they know how to reprogram and pilot paladins now…_

"We managed to lead Torchwick back to the rest of our teams, and we ambushed him. It wasn't until a strange multicolored girl showed up with a parasol… and helped him escape. Again."

"He always seems to get away, doesn't he…" I sighed, then reached up to rub at the base of one of her ears. She was on my chest after all, she was asking for it-

She suddenly curled up into me a little more, letting out a shaky breath as I felt her cheek snuggle into my chest.

_Wait… was she actually asking for me to do that?_

"Hey, at least you took down one of their mechs."

"There's bound to be more, though."

"Then I'll help you take those down as well." I said, switching ears for a moment and smiling at the way her cat ears flutter slightly with each small second I leave them alone.

"Well… we have a lead now. That's more than we've had since we started." She said in a light voice, sounding much more relaxed than when I first woke up.

"That's a one hundred percent improvement." I joked a bit, taking my own tighter hold of her soft hand. She seemed content to just hold it, so I might as well return the favor.

It was comforting, actually.

I slowly started to realize something though. My wings… how come they aren't out right now? I thought I fell unconscious without a sweatshirt of any kind on. My eyes transitioned downward, and I took note of a clean, fresh, and entirely intact black sweatshirt adorning my upper body beneath the thin covers.

"Did you grab me a new sweatshirt?"

Blake's light hum answered my question, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. She lifted that small metaphorical weight off my shoulders, "Thanks."

My gratitude was followed by a few minutes of silence, and I continued that ear massage she enjoyed so much alongside it.

"Do the others know I'm awake?" I asked, deciding to settle some of my curiosity.

She shook her head slightly against my chest, "No, I wanted to be the first to see you."

With a few more scratches to the base of her ear, I switched to the other again and felt my eyes transition into that reflective pink color I've familiarized myself with when it came to Blake, "I missed you too."

Her breathing was starting to heighten, and it wasn't long until I started hearing and feeling her adorable purrs against my chest.

Come to think of it, she's been hiding her face for a while. Which usually meant she wanted to keep her blushes from view.

_Guess I'll have to draw it out. _As I switched ears again, I lifted her hand that was nestled within my own, and took a few extra seconds to slip the heart monitor off of my finger. I then softly clipped it onto one of her own, and watched as the monitor suddenly started rapidly pulsing at our sides.

"H-hey! That's cheating!" Blake pushed herself up again and glared at me. Her cheeks were a flustered red and her cat ears were twitching noticeably beneath her bow.

"What? You look cute when you blush."

She then did something that only made her that much more adorable.

She pouted.

I didn't miss the heart monitor slightly increasing, though.

_I wonder how fast I can make her heart race… _I then reached up and took a gentle hold of the back of her slender neck, then captured her lips in my own as I pulled her back down.

I think the heartbeat monitor broke after that.

* * *

**Third Person**

Allix sat amongst teams RWBY, SNAR, JNPR, and CFVY. Her dark silver eyes danced across their clusters as they waited around in the room they found themselves in. They each congregated into small groups of their own closest friends.

The RWY of the scythe wielder's team was more or less grouped together with team JNPR. SNAR and CFVY were the separate ones, seeing as they seemed content to sit closest to their own teammates. However, despite the small discrepancies in formation, everyone was still part of the larger group that appeared before her.

"So, wait. Let me get this straight. All of you… knew that Xera was just playing dead?" Yang asked, eyeing each of the leaders around her, "I thought it was just our two teams."

"Nope." Coco replied simply, lifting and crossing the heels of her boots onto the coffee table in front of her, "We were informed about it after the matter, but were told to keep it all under wraps."

"Yeah. Xera sent me a message after the tournament and explained everything to me. So we weren't left in the dark." Velvet added in.

Yatsuhashi sat on the other side of Velvet, and he simply nodded to the questioning glance Yang cast him. Fox did the same, though he was leaning against the back of the couch near Coco.

"We heard it all from Rid." Sun said, flicking his golden furred monkey tail at the blind teen at his side.

The hyena-faunus leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, "It's not like they could hide it from me."

"…yeah. He would've seen Xera's aura signature at the end of the battle, so it explains why he was informed about it. Though, he kept it a secret until after the final battle." Anna cut in with a small glare, then muttered, "It would've been nice to know from the start…"

"Listen, I know none of us have all the details. But I think this was all for a good reason." Ruby spoke up, gathering the attention of those that were listening.

"From what we know, there is a highly significant reason as to why Xera did that. And above all else, even Ozpin was involved. Which means it wasn't something to be taken lightly." Weiss said alongside Ruby.

"We know a little more than that, Weiss." Ren said, "We were informed about it by Xera himself. He's being hunted."

"Hunted doesn't even begin to describe it…" Nora added in.

"He's being hunted nonetheless. And if faking his death would throw them off his trail… then that's for the better. Zerath was a trained assassin hired to kill him, so it all looked authentic." Ren continued.

"Why would someone want to hunt him down?" Coco asked skeptically, "Does it have something to do with…"

The two teams in front of her shared glances, wondering if it was their place to explain to her what Xera really was. _Who_ he really was.

"Uhh… how much do you know?" Yang asked.

Coco leaned forward a bit and lowered her sunglasses, "How much do _you_ know?"

"You can't just counter me like that!"

"I can since it's safer that you just go first."

"But it makes sense for _you_ to go first!"

"Tsk, tsk. That's not strategy, now is it?" Coco retaliated with a satisfied smirk, watching as the blonde before her balled up her fists and let out an exasperated breath.

Still, though… she saw his wings. Velvet didn't look all that surprised at the time, so she must have already known. But… she had honestly no idea that Xera hid such beautifully black wings beneath his sweatshirt.

Was he being hunted… because he was a faunus? She's personally never even heard of an avian faunus before. They were rare, very rare. Much like Rideat being a hyena.

"Alright guys, in any case, we should at least tell them." Jaune spoke up, "They have a right to know. Coco and Velvet risked their lives to save Xera, so they should know what we know."

"I agree with Jaune on this one. It's only fair that they learn the truth." Pyrrha said.

"Are you only saying that because you agree with everything Jaune says?" Nora asked with a turn of the head, glancing at the fiery redhead at her side.

"No, I simply think that they have a right to know. Do they not?"

"She's right." Ruby cut in, "They deserve to know."

_This is getting tiresome… just tell us… _Coco fixed her glasses as she leaned back into her seat again, wondering just when the first years in front of her would make up their mind.

As the two teams seemed to have made their decision finally, while the others waited, both Weiss and Yang got up. The two of them started checking their surroundings and closing all the doors around them…

They were really taking this seriously.

_It… must be something pretty important for them to be doing this…_

"It's clear, so stop stalling." Rideat spoke aloud, turning his head to look at their surroundings and through the walls. No aura signatures, or anything, was in any proximity to this room. They were in the clear.

He… stayed quiet about one thing, though.

"Xera's a… phoenix." Ruby finally said, albeit slightly meekly.

"A… phoenix?" Coco questioned, "As in, the mythical bird?"

Ruby and the rest of her team nodded to that.

"Ooookay?" She had a lot of questions, but first, "Is that why he has wings?"

Numerous eyes went wide as Ruby herself gasped into the room's atmosphere, "You knew about that?!"

"Well, not until recently at least."

Some more glances were traded before someone else spoke up, "Xera's an unbelievably rare pure breed of faunus." Ren said.

"Which is why there's a corporation out there that wants his body, dead or alive." Nora added.

Ren nodded then continued, "And from the looks of it, they'd prefer him dead."

"Isn't a phoenix known for rising from the ashes after its destruction?" Neptune asked.

"In some myths, yes. But we're talking about an entire civilization here. All of which… are extinct now." Weiss informed.

"Oh… well, that just makes everything worse then." Anna realized.

"Oh my god!"

The sudden exclamation cut in out of nowhere and all eyes turned to the hyperactive partner sitting next to Ren on the couch, "How will he repopulate?!"

Groans and giggles were shared amongst the group, but most of them tried not to think about it.

"Maybe… flaming kittens?" Yang offered.

She elicited a few laughs out of the group, but not as many as she was hoping for.

"Right, ignoring that last exclamation. Xera can use fire, but we aren't sure on whether or not he was born with that." Ren continued the explanation.

"I can vouch for that. He's used it in combat practice before." Jaune said.

"Not just that. But from what I saw in the Krono Desert this morning… wow… he's some fire user." Coco added in as well, blowing a small whistle with her lips for emphasis.

"In any case, I did some research into the phoenix." Weiss cut in, waiting until the majority of the eyes were on her before continuing, "They were known to have inherited the ability to expand their aura reserves. However, on some sources I found, it's said that their skin is naturally immune to all kinds of temperature. Fire included."

"Did it say anything about him being able to manipulate fire though?"

"No, I found nothing on that." Weiss said with a sigh, "In fact, that was all the information I _could_ find. It was… as if their entire existence was erased. It feels like no one wants them to be known. Some of my highest ranked researchers worked on this… and that was all they could gather up."

"How many cases have there been where one could gain the control over an element?" Pyrrha asked instead.

"Not many. In fact, it's incredibly abnormal for a single case to actually take place at all." Weiss said.

"A semblance is derived from one's soul. So if someone were to have control over an element, they would need to have a particular and very specific characteristic about themselves as a person to develop an ability of that caliber." Ren said.

"Which just creates more mysteries…" Ruby sighed, "Listen, we're not going to find any answers for these questions."

"Rubes is right. If we sit here talking about this for too long, we run the risk of someone overhearing us." Yang said.

"We're still in the clear." Rideat cut in.

"My point still stands. We shouldn't talk so openly about this."

"Outside of this group, no one is to say a word about anything in regards to Xera." Ren said, "Including the fact that he's not dead."

"Or that he has wings." Velvet added.

"While we're on the subject of that, how many of you have seen them?" Coco asked.

Her question lingered in the air for a while, leaving her to carefully look around with her chocolate brown eyes. She wanted to know… she was curious, and she wanted to know if she was among the few… or the many… that's seen Xera's wings.

To her mild excitement, very few raised their hands. In fact, it was much less than she had anticipated.

Allix, who had been keeping quiet throughout the entirety of the conversation, slowly raised her hand. With her, only Velvet and Rideat raised their hands. Rideat, well, he was cheating anyway and also technically didn't count.

So, she ruled him out.

That meant only her, Velvet, and Allix, have seen his wings.

Blake was most likely an addition to that, she concluded.

Which meant… _That few, huh? I guess I should feel proud about that. _A satisfied smirk crossed her lips, and she leaned back in her seat once again. She had been leaned forward ever so slightly in anticipation for the answers.

"I'll be honest with you… I kinda want to see them." Yang admitted.

"Yeah… I do too." Ruby piped in quietly.

A few murmurs throughout the group sounded out for a few seconds before Yang spoke up again, "Can you explain them to us? I mean, like, some of us might really want to know…"

Coco quirked a delicate eyebrow and turned to look at Velvet, then Allix, both of which unsure of whether or not to go along with this.

"I can… but I'm not going to be very specific. I feel like it's an intrusion into his privacy if I was…" Coco said firmly. She had a firsthand look at his wings from a very close up perspective. She could describe them with every minute detail. That much was for sure.

She couldn't stop staring at them during the whole flight back to Beacon.

But, she couldn't just neglect Xera's reasoning for hiding his wings in the first place. However, since everyone already knew of their existence… she had no problem in explaining them. At least, enough to get them curious.

Which may or may not be a good thing, because she sort of wanted to keep the honor to herself.

"That's fine." Yang responded to her limitation.

As Coco looked around, she noticed that a majority of the people in front of her had their attention solely on her. _Do they all seriously want to know this badly…? _"Alright." She said simply as she situated herself more comfortably in her seat.

"They're sleek and thin, but incredibly fast and strong. The way he used them… it was as if he was following the movements of a flickering flame. They're color… they have a magnificent reflective gleam to them, and beneath that subtle shine is the deepest, purest ebony." Coco may have been starting to get carried away. She _has_ never seen anything as beautiful as what she saw today though.

But who could blame her? She has a high appreciation for materials and attire that accessorize well, alongside the fashion that she already has a high aptitude for in the first place.

And she's a fashionista when it comes to these kinds of things, "His wings are softer than ivory and silk combined. Hell, throw velvet in there too." She had to help carry him into the bullhead when they flew out of there, so she was able to get more than a little time to feel the feathers of his wings. Though, it wasn't like they needed much help anyway. He was disbelievingly light weight.

She didn't feel them on purpose of course.

No, that would just be weird. If anyone asked, that's what she'd say.

"The point is, they're the softest feathers I know of in existence, but they have an endurance to them that just hints at strength hidden in those beautiful wings of his." Coco then leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other, "If I were to guess, they work as a very stunning suit of weaponized armor. Alongside his already highly mobile form."

When she stopped talking, no one else spoke for the longest time. It felt like there was a baited tension in the air again, only… most of the looks she noticed crossing the faces of most of the teens before her… were all variations of intrigue, interest, or intense curiosity.

"I… I have the right to strip him now… right? Or at least… catch him without his shirt on?" Yang asked aloud.

"You know him, Yang. Xera is never seen without his sweatshirt on." Ruby said.

"Yeah, and don't forget. Skyla went on a long-winded spree of traps in an effort to get his sweatshirt drenched. There was syrup involved… and jelly…" Jaune added.

"And syrup!" Nora called out.

"I believe that was already said." Ren cut in.

"Hey, you just have to be more direct. Which just so happens to be my specialty." Yang replied with a cheeky smile.

"I think you might have to take that up with Blake." Velvet said.

Yang cracked her knuckles and knocked a few kinks out of her neck, "That won't be an issue."

"Can we just, uh, make an agreement here to not try and purposefully see them ourselves?" Jaune asked, hoping to get Yang's mind off of the more violent courses.

"Awe, how come?"

"He always hid them, so we can at least let him eventually feel comfortable enough to show us himself." He continued, "So, wouldn't it make sense that we respect his privacy?"

Yang let out a long groan, but she had to admit, Jaune wasn't wrong, "Fiiiiine… but can I at least tempt him?"

"You can do what you want, Yang. It just might hurt the friendship you have with him." Pyrrha said.

The wild blonde fully understood what Pyrrha meant, so she started to tone down the advances she had in mind. Velvet also had a strong point as well. Xera was Blake's. She couldn't just step in like that, she wouldn't stoop to that level.

At least, she would try not to.

She was still extremely curious to see what Coco explained.

"Alright guys, I think we've talked about this for long enough." Rideat spoke out with a deep breath, before he pushed himself to his feet. He was careful not to use his mechanical hand on the couch, seeing as they actually smelled like they were high quality, "Xera's conscious."

"Wait, did he just wake up?" Allix asked. Her new voice to the conversation wasn't missed by those that were closest to Xera's team. They were wondering when she'd speak up, and why she's been so quiet.

Worry was written all over her features and eyes.

"No, he's been up for a while now."

"Seriously?! Why didn't you tell us?" Allix asked, suddenly standing up from her own seat.

"Well…" Rideat rubbed the back of his neck and tugged at his beanie, "You know how Blake's been missing… right…?"

Yang's eyes lit up at that, "Oh, So the kitten's getting some action with her fiery bird?"

"I'd rather not say."

Her smirk only grew, "Then let's find out."

Allix had already left, so she was the next one to stand and follow. Everyone in the room got up as well and started filing out of the waiting room to slowly make their way down the infirmary wing's hallways.

"Alright, come on people. I was being serious!" Nora called out as she caught up to Ren at the back of the group, "I wanna know how he's going to repopulate!"

* * *

"How is he?" Dante asked, stepping around the icy room as he kept his eyes trained on the centered bed.

"He's stable, master. However, the fading of his consciousness has not completely stopped. It's nearly deteriorated." Inuba responded quietly.

"He won't be Zerath anymore if this keeps up." Destiny concluded. She had only just begun delving into the research of Dark Entities this year. And she's learned quite a lot about them… this, however, was something new, "I didn't know Dark Entities could do this…"

"No ordinary Dark Entity can." Dante clarified, "This is the work of a Dark Entity class known as a Lord. It's the level right beneath the King classification."

"That is what's strange about this, master." Inuba said, "I can restrain a Dark Lord with ease. However, I've been having trouble keeping Zerath's darkness at bay."

"You have?"

"Yes."

"That… that might be an issue." Dante realized there was something else that was going on here, "From the first moment you sensed him to now, has there been an increase in the dark presence you felt?"

Inuba closed her eyes for a few moments, before they slowly opened and turned directly to Dante by Zerath's bedside, "His presence has become more apparent. At first, I associated that feeling with the power Soul-Slasher was gaining over Zerath's mind… but it's far too much of an increase for that to be the case."

"Which means there might just be something he's drawing power from. And if I'm right, it's anything but good."

"Master, do you think…"

"I do. If this universe has one too, and if Soul-Slasher is using it, then we have a huge issue on our hands. Something we need to solve as soon as we can."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Inuba asked, turning her crimson eyes back to Zerath, "How can we save him if he's this far gone?"

Dante stopped to think. Destiny had been keeping quiet. Merely observing what was taking place before her and taking in everything she can. Could she use her chains again? It was a longshot at best, but if it came down to it… she could try to pull Soul-Slasher from Zerath again.

She would need to sacrifice a lot of energy to do that again, though… and so soon after just using so much of it in her fight against him in the tournament.

Silence fell upon the room. Dante hated to admit it… but Zerath's life was starting to become unsalvageable if this kept up.

"I believe I can help you with that." A new voice spoke up.

For a brief shining moment, there was a flash of white light. And a fourth figure appeared. A female now stood in the center of the room, cloaked in white and with a soft effeminate and young voice.

The very fabric of her attire glimmered in the dim light of the dreary infirmary, reflecting even that of the smallest of shines. Entangled into the white cloak swirled the elegant designs of black motif, branching away from a trim of equal color.

"I can help you save him."

* * *

**Wow… okay… 16 different personalities in one scene is tough to write, I won't lie. That was an interesting experience…**

**But there we go. A mysterious cliffhanger, a fluffy scene with an adorable Blake, and an expositional scene that hopefully explained the whole 'Xera's becoming overpowered' issue.**

**Should be a nice setup for what's to come. I do warn you, though, there will be some more action. That much I can tell you.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	65. Reliance in Acceptance

**Now, I may be scientific and, more times than not, try to explain something in a way that makes it possible… but that doesn't rule magic out of everything. Sometimes, it's just unavoidable.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 65: Reliance in Acceptance

**Third Person**

"What do you mean, you can _help_? Just, who are you?" Destiny asked, internally questioning the sudden presence of the girl that stood before them.

"_Maybe the universe is finally on our side, sis?" _Fate took a moment to wonder, but it was immediately shot down by the sister in question. _The universe has never been on our side, so why start now?_

"My name and my origin are unimportant. The only speculation you should be making is how to go about saving your friend here." The cloaked girl responded, gesturing a pale hand to the infirmary room's bed.

"That isn't an answer." Destiny quipped. This was Xera's brother she was talking about. He's suffered enough and was subjected to the whim of a demon for years.

If that girl meant him harm…

"Destiny, she's a friend. And I think she's our only option of keeping Zerath from descending into darkness, permanently. There won't _be_ a Zerath if we do nothing. It'll only be the Dark Entity that's taken residence within him." Dante said, emphasizing a few of his words to get the point across.

"You know her, then?" Destiny asked, looking toward Dante now.

"Yeah, she's my stalker."

Destiny and, surprisingly, the girl in white both shot him their glances. One was riddled with confusion and curiosity, the other was about to bore a hole into Dante's head through eye contact alone.

"W-well… he's not wrong…" Inuba said, coughing into her fist to establish innocence and presence in all of this.

"Oh, hush up you two. I've merely been… around… for reasons I can't quite tell either of you yet." The girl sighed in exasperation with pauses in her words, turning down her hood as she approached the teen on the bed, "Now please, we must move on before we lose him."

She then turned to Inuba and dipped the tip of her hood slightly, almost as if it were the starting of a very subtle but elegant bow, "Thank you, Miss Kitsukami, for binding him. It will make my plan easier to initiate and sustain."

Inuba looked more shocked than anything else, but she quickly smiled in response before speaking, "You're welcome. I was only trying to buy us more time."

"Your efforts have preserved his consciousness." The girl said, "They were not in vein nor as simple as you reason them to be."

The kitsune nodded her head, this time looking more humble by the words spoken.

Despite all this, though. A realization seemed to come into fruition with the cloaked girl as she rested a hand on Zerath's cold head, "Only two."

"Two?" Dante asked.

The girl closed her eyes and held her response, for now, only opening them moments later after verifying her first assumption, "I can only send two people in."

"In where?" This time, it was Destiny's turn to ask questions.

Dante then stepped forward and waved his non-bandaged hand slightly, "Hold on, you can't just send anybody in _there_. You know what that can do to someone…"

"I do. But for this task, two is better than one. This way, one cannot lose themselves without the other there to guide them." The girl spoke back, responding in the same vagueness she's been using.

"I'm lost. I have an idea as to what you two are talking about… but… that can't be possible…" Destiny said.

Inuba moved over to her master's side and looked down at the darkened soul before them, "It's been done before. In fact, master has achieved such a task on his own."

"Yes, but it was a pain to do." Dante retorted quickly.

"You did it nonetheless. And because of that, you've become who you are now. Something much better than what you _could've _become." Inuba said, her tone trailing off into a more supportive and almost affectionate one.

"_So… it really is possible…" _Fate mentally commented, realizing the same thing Destiny had come to realize by now.

"Two souls are all that I am willing to send into the depths of Zerath's mind." The girl said, before turning her attention to Dante, "You are one of them. I can already trust that you'll be more than capable of keeping your sense of self within Zerath's consciousness."

"Are you only saying that because I've already done that in the past?" Dante asked.

"No. Your soul is incorruptible and vigilant. You will always find a way to succeed, no matter the odds. That is why _you_ must be one of the two to go in there."

Dante looked away, but he knew she made good points that were hard to ignore, "Alright, but that doesn't make it easy to pick someone else to go with me."

"What about me?" Destiny asked, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight to another foot, "I can go with him. I've spent countless years with a shared mind. It'll be a piece of cake to keep my own bearings in there with Dante. Besides, this way his waifu won't be worried about his safety." She continued with a smirk, "He'll be in safe hands."

"I-if that's the case, then I'll go." Inuba suddenly spoke up, "I am more than capable of keeping master safe. A-and I'll be sure to do my best to help Zerath. Aside from Dante, I am the only other person here who has experience in vanquishing Dark Entities."

"Well, I have knowledge of countless dark beings and can sense dark presences on my own thanks to my research and abilities." Destiny piped in.

Inuba turned a sharp gaze to the wolf, "Regardless, I think I'm more qualified for the job. My abilities match that of my master's own, and we already have the synchronization to work together as partners. W-we've known one another for far longer than you have after all." Inuba's moment of stutter was quickly made up for, but that didn't stop the very slight blush from dusting her cheeks.

Both purple and crimson sets of eyes turned to Dante and asked the same silent question.

"Oh, no. I'm not picking for you…" Dante said, holding up his hands in defense.

"It doesn't matter." The cloaked girl spoke up from between the two who wished to be Dante's partner in this, "Neither of you can last for an extended period of time within this man's diminishing mind."

Her statement brought bewilderment and denial to the two girls' faces.

"She's right." Dante said, drawing their attention back to him, "They can't go with me."

"But," Inuba started, only for her question to be finished by Destiny, "Why?"

"Going into another person's mind isn't a simple experience in another world with the same rules that tether you to the laws that define it. It tests you. It affects you in so many different ways that insanity is a common occurrence, no matter how determined you are." He explained.

Inuba looked down and grasped tightly at her skirt, "Master, I can't let you go alone into such a dangerous place."

"And I can't take you into a place that'll be so dangerous to _you_." Dante replied, "I can't just bring you in there. Places like Zerath's mind, as it is now, will do everything in its power to change you as a person. It… doesn't just affect your soul and will."

"It doesn't?"

"No, your memories will be affected as well." The unnamed girl spoke up again, "When you are in the presence of someone else's subconscious, it will try to push thoughts and memories into your own mind. You have to be resilient enough to keep them out… or you'll lose your sense of self altogether. And," She paused for a moment, "It is very difficult to flush those images out once they take hold of you."

"That's why I'm not going to take someone I care about so much into a place like that. Inuba, you are my partner. But this isn't a place I'm willing to take you… not if there's a chance of you not coming back out with me." Dante said.

Inuba's eyes weakened in their resolve substantially, and as Dante looked at her, she couldn't stop them from glistening with the starting of watery tears, "I-if you say so, master. Then I will remain here."

"Thank you, Inuba." Dante said, a look of relief crossing his face before he turned his gaze to Destiny.

"I'll relent as well. But this still leaves the issue of who will go into Zerath's mind with you." The wolf-faunus sighed, her ears folding against her head slightly in submission.

"You will need someone who is already familiar with Zerath's memories. Someone who won't be affected by the treacherous tasks that you'll undoubtedly face. And above all else, someone strong and resilient in their mind and soul that they'll be capable of lingering in such draining conditions." Turning to look toward Dante, the hooded girl hoped that he knew of someone who fit those conditions.

"That's easy." Dante said, "I knew we went out there and brought him back for a reason."

* * *

A heartbeat monitor lay dark, slightly dented, and unplugged off to the side. How it got there, or why it was unplugged, to begin with was uncertain. No one could know for sure.

Well, two did, one of which had grown annoyed and fed up with the machine. The other found it rather amusing and absolutely adorable.

"You know, in my defense, I missed you too." Xera offered up, pushing himself into a position to allow himself to sit up against the backrest. He had already pulled the aura stimulant from his arm, not needing the annoying needle anymore. And now, his gaze just remained in the amber orbs of the girl sitting on her heels at the foot of his bed.

"That's not much of a defense…" She said, her brows furrowing in mild annoyance.

"Then… I couldn't help myself?" Xera tried, hoping to make up for embarrassing her… even if it was cute.

"You're one of the few people I know that can easily beat out anyone else in a competition of self-control."

Xera pulled his legs in now and crossed them beneath his blanket, coincidently crossing his arms at the same time as well, "Alright, then… I just wanted to see you blush again. I haven't really been around lately… everything's just gotten pretty hectic."

Blake rolled her eyes with a small huff, "Yeah, no kidding." The blush she had dusting her cheeks before seemed to redden further, enough so that it caused her to dip her gaze shyly ever so slightly.

_Oh look, she's blushing again._ Xera couldn't help but take note of, especially since she lowered her chin as if to hide it. Though, she made no move to actually look away… Which only suggested one thing, _I guess she doesn't mind me seeing her reddened face…_

_How cute._

After a minute or two, she seemed to finally cool off a bit and let her cheeks return to their normally soft, pale complexion.

"You don't have to worry about anyone having seen your wings on your way in." Blake said, turning her gaze back to Xera after their small moment of silence.

"Do I? I know that everyone on the mission saw them," Xera said, pausing slightly, "I just have no idea who may have seen them on my way from the bullhead to here."

"No one," Blake said firmly, "I got back from my own outing a few minutes before your bullhead turned up. And, once I saw you, the sweatshirt was the first thing that I grabbed. Dante also took a lot of measures to get you here unseen."

"I'll have to thank him for that later, but… for now, thanks. Again," A soft, relieved smile grew on Xera's lips as he looked back to Blake, "For helping me out."

"I'll always help you when you need it." Blake said, her tone softening, "And… when you feel comfortable… you don't have to constantly hide them. Not from me, at least."

"I have no issue with you seeing my wings, Blake." Xera said with a small shake of the head, "And if we're alone, and I forget about it, feel free to ask. I'm just so used to having my sweatshirt on. It's just become a routine for me."

If Blake was being honest, she was expecting a little more resistance about this, "Are you sure? You've hidden them all your life for a good reason. I can't just…" She trailed off, but the point was made clear to Xera.

"It's alright. I think enough generations have passed that it really isn't as big of an issue as it used to be. But, winged faunus are still rare… I can't go out in public with them on show. So, for now…" Xera leaned forward and gave Blake's bow a small tap, "It'll just be for you and me."

Blake spared the phoenix a small smile, something slightly different from her infamous smirk, "I'd like that. As long as you're sure about it."

"I am." Xera confirmed before he noticed a small twitch in Blake's bow. He knew that movement. Her cat ears always did that when they were tuning into a distant sound emanating from somewhere else.

The two of their gazes turned simultaneously, taking notice to the shifting of weight on a nearby bed. What followed was the fall of two light feet onto the cold tiled floor of the infirmary room.

"Who else was in here?" Xera asked quietly, turning his gaze back to Blake for a moment.

Blake's own gaze remained on their surrounding curtain, and only muttered a response under her breath, "I didn't think she'd be on her feet so soon…"

"She?"

The sound of an adjacent curtain being drawn back echoed out into the quiet room, before they heard the light padding of feet make their way over to their own curtain. And, soon enough, that was drawn back as well.

Revealing someone Xera wasn't expecting to see. At least, he knew she was awake, but didn't she need to rest?

"You know, if you two wanted to have a bunch of moments." The newcomer said with a slightly distant look, "You could've asked me to leave."

The girl who stepped into the half closed curtain crossed her arms, and her deep purple eyes took in the scene of Blake and Xera sitting up and glancing back at her.

"I figured it was alright. Besides, you needed some rest." Blake said, giving the girl a courteous glance as she slipped off Xera's bed and began putting on her boots.

"Rest? I feel fine, but… I don't really remember what happened."

"Of course you don't." Xera spoke up, "You just experienced your semblance in a much more direct and draining way than you ordinarily do."

"Wait, I did?!" Skyla exclaimed as her arms dropped to her sides.

Xera nodded to the brunette, her own mouth open in astonishment for a few moments before she had the mind to close it.

"Did you know? Wait, did I know? How did I know how to use it? What does it do? Is it awesome? Or, is it weird and useless?"

"Skyla, it was awesome. And, I have a few guesses as to what it is. I've been paying attention to you for quite a while now and I think I've mostly figured it out." Xera said, bringing the girl's trail of questions to a slow stop.

"But," Skyla said softly, "How come you never told me? Was I using it this whole time?"

"Yes and no." Xera replied, "You've been using it subconsciously. In fact, you've been activating it by accident."

Skyla was, well, genuinely confused. She thought she had no idea, but she would be lying. She's been suspicious about something for quite a long while… Something she's always questioned… "Is it how I can manipulate my ribbons? I had always assumed it was magic… but, was it actually my semblance?"

"As far as I know, I don't think that's the case. Actually, with how rampant yet fluid your aura is, I think _that_ allows you to reach your natural aura through the fabric of your weaponized ribbons. And, because you've been training with them for so long, you've developed a lot of precise motor skills when manipulating them." Xera then nodded toward Blake, and the faunus girl looked up for a moment after slipping on her second boot.

"Mine work similarly, however, I rely on a few other variables to help me manipulate my own ribbons." Blake said, soon standing up straight and crossing her arms, "You have a lot of control over your own. A lot of raw control, actually. And all of it stems from your aura."

"Okay…" Skyla hummed, nodding her head as if understanding everything that was said. She really did take in everything. She just still questioned her semblance. And nothing Xera, nor Blake, said was fixing that question with an answer, "Still, though, what about my semblance-"

A knock soon echoed off of the walls, interrupting the girl. Xera's head turned toward the door at the other end of the room.

"I'll explain it later when we can actually test it." Xera said, "For now, I think we have company."

Two voiced soon came from that direction, muffled slightly by the closed entryway.

"Come on Allix! Why'd you have to knock?! We could've caught them in the act!"

"Yang, I can't even begin to start describing to you why that's so wrong…"

"It could've been comedy gold!"

"Only to you." Allix's voice trailed off.

"Awe, come on! You have to admit it. It would've been at least a little funny… We should've been faster."

"They can hear you."

"I refuse to believe that."

"You clearly already know."

"Not in the slightest."

"Just… stop talking…" Allix soon made her way into the infirmary room, arms crossed and her right eye slightly twitching in mild annoyance.

The one to follow her in was none other than Yang. Behind her, Ruby and Weiss were the next to enter.

Xera was starting to question why their entire team was here… only to further be confused by the fact that people were _still_ entering the large infirmary room.

To his mild surprise, Jaune and his team made their way inside after Weiss, leading the way for Sun's team to walk in as well.

"This is," The phoenix hesitated, "…becoming crowded." Xera muttered, watching as everyone more or less kept getting closer. They weren't the end of it, though. Coco entered the room as well, accompanied by her own team. Though, thankfully, it seemed that not everyone was inclined to just straight up surround his bed.

There were quite a lot of them who just scattered out throughout the rest of the room and only seemed to make an appearance in order to settle their own curiosity as to what took place. Or, at least, Xera assumed that to be the case.

"Why… is everyone here?" Xera asked. His eyes also watched as Skyla retreated to his side, stepping closer over to Blake's side and getting herself out of the gaze of everyone in the room.

"Aside from wondering about your well-being?" Weiss asked before crossing her own arms, "We'd also like to know what's going on."

"Yeah, we've been a bit… busy. So we haven't really had time to find out what exactly is going on." Ruby cut in.

Right, there was still the underlying fact that not many people know about Zerath's critical condition. About how he's fallen deeper into a coma while his mind is under turmoil and strain, and that the darkness of Soul-Slasher was slowly eating away at him.

Their mission was ill-explained, if at all, to them. Why they went out into the desert is a complete mystery to everyone here. And, those that know that Dante has made yet another appearance here in this world as well, are probably wondering why he's even here.

The last time he visited was to hunt a Dark Entity.

Leaning forward in his bed, Xera rested his elbows on his legs as his gaze swept across the room, "You want to be filled in?"

"I think we have a right to know." Yang said.

So much was happening. So much has already happened. There hasn't been time for moments, nor time to rest, or time to even question anyone himself of what they already know. He had to find that notebook. Find out what happened to Zerath.

Reverse engineer it, somehow.

And, if at all possible, reverse the entire process and get that demon out of his brother.

"I'll sum it up for you, I guess."

* * *

Dante had been looking through the journal of time-logs and entries for the past few minutes now. It was a little difficult with one hand, but he managed. When Allix first handed it to him, he was a little confused about it. He had just gotten back with Xera after all, what else was going on?

It wasn't until he read the first entry then visited Zerath himself that he understood what was taking place. Inuba was also a large help as well, restraining and slowing down the efforts of the Dark Entity within Zerath.

Without her, Zerath may already be gone.

Not letting another moment go by, Dante closed the journal and held it at his left side.

"Did reading through all the time-logs give you anything useful?" Inuba asked, having been walking alongside her master ever since they left that darkened room.

"Yes and no. At the very least, these guys didn't really know what they were doing at first." Dante said, his grip slightly tightening on the book itself, "It just confirmed what she said we'd have to do."

"It makes sense that they had difficulties. Dark Entities have never been easy to understand. In fact, I'm amazed that the scientists of this world found a way to implant one into a human."

"In a very risky way…" A daunting glimmer of reflected moonlight slipped over the surface of the journal in Dante's hand, "They unleashed it onto him."

"Unleashed?" Inuba asked, a hint of unease in her tone and expression.

The light from the moon cascaded into the halls from every passing window, its silver glow easily reflecting off Dante's eyes as he glanced back to the fox yōkai at his side, "In order to attune one body with the other, they had to familiarize the two with the very fabric of the other's being."

"In other words?"

"A lot of pain, and…" Dante hesitated, turning his gaze downward, "A lot of agony." What had taken place to lace those two together wasn't pretty, not even in the loosest of terms. In fact, Dante was rather light with his words. He hadn't even divulged, or even hinted toward, the more horrifying procedures that took place.

Inuba's voice lowered, almost a whisper now, "He must have endured so much."

"Zerath's one hell of a guy if this journal is anything to go by. His willpower alone was insane."

"Master," Inuba's eyes found Dante's again as their paced slowed slightly, "Do you think he'll be the same person he once was? After all of this is over?"

Dante's own eyes met hers for a moment before he stopped walking, "If we can pull this off, then Zerath has a better chance of surviving and continuing life as himself. But, the odds are still slim."

"How slim?"

"If we keep stalling… then Zerath might not get out of this alive." Dante started walking again soon after that comment, "The issue is that I need to prepare Xera for what his mind will be experiencing."

"Experiencing? Do you not need the same preparations?"

"No. My immortality extends through both my body and my soul, as far as I know. Xera will be the one that'll be in danger."

"How long will this process take?"

"Not long. If you and my stalker back there continue to keep Soul-Slasher under stasis, I'll be able to do everything I need to in order for us to have a much higher chance of success." Dante then glanced over his shoulder and toward his partner, "Besides, the passage of time within the mind is much faster than in reality. So, we'll have plenty of time to do what we need to."

"That's good. Whoever that girl is, I'm glad she knows what to do in a situation like this."

"She always does." Dante replied before turning the next corner and heading down the hallway there, "Let's just grab Xera and head back. I'm pretty sure Destiny's already trying to question everything about her."

"She _did_ seem content to stay behind and study what the girl was doing to hold Zerath's mind at bay as well."

"That too."

Inuba soon slowed to her own stop before giving a short bow to Dante, "If what you said is true, and I do believe that you are more times right than wrong, I must head back. I will buy you as much time as I can."

"Alright, go see what you can do. I'll make this quick. Besides, I'll need to take Xera back to that room. You'll be taking over for the girl back there once we do since I'll need her to help with the process."

"I can do that. You needn't worry about my abilities."

He smiled, "I never have."

Inuba quickly turned and walked off, heading back toward the room they had come from and left Dante to continue his own pace, "Now… what do I tell Xera?" He didn't exactly want to outright say that Zerath had a low chance of surviving this. How would that affect him?

Dante needed Xera at his best if they were to pull this off. But, _not _telling him could prove to be even worse. And in the event of the worst case scenario happening, it could very well make that impact all the harder. He might need to know how this might end going into this.

_I guess I'll just have to tell him when I get the chance._

* * *

Aside from the summarization of the situation Xera's brother was in, everything else went rather uneventfully. For better, or for worse, it rendered the recipients in the room in complete silence. Some were mumbling, others averted their stares, and the rest simply couldn't find the right words.

Xera didn't blame them, he couldn't. If he were to be honest, he'd rather it be this way. The less they got involved in any of this, the better in the event that it went south. It'd affect them the least… and that's what he wanted in the end.

A burden like this can only be carried by him and him alone. The others saw Zerath as who he presented himself as during and before the tournament. Nothing more than a monster with blood on his hands and a vicious condescending air that followed him wherever he went.

Realistically, that's what Zerath's become. And that's what he'll remain… if Xera couldn't do anything about it.

The stifling silence that fell over the infirmary room remained for another minute before it was finally broken, but the tension remained, strong as ever. Xera's gaze switched to the door as the dull echo of footsteps sounded out like muffled thunder on the horizon of a windless desert.

Dante's white hair was the first thing that Xera saw before he came fully into view, crossing his arms as he glanced in Xera's direction.

"So? What's with the silence?" His blue gaze took in the state the room was in before bringing it back to the phoenix in black.

Xera slid himself out of bed and lightly maneuvered himself around a machine, slipping passed the closed curtain a moment later, "How is he?"

Dante's question was left unanswered. Maybe it was better that way.

"He's holding strong. He hasn't given up on you yet, Xera. So, why don't we go and save your brother? I think he needs a helping hand." Dante said, glancing back to the door and into the hallway.

Xera didn't need to be told twice. He took in Dante's words and was already headed toward the door, only to stop at the small call of his name.

A dark blue had long since settled over the irises of his eyes. Little was needed to tell that the deep color was a direct opposite of what his usual sky blue irises depicted. That very gaze turned back to the young reaper in red, her chin nearly hidden now as she ducked it into the loose folds of her crimson cloak.

"If…" A shaky pause broke the young girl's statement, "If you need any help. Please, just ask. We're more than willing." Ruby said, her eyes bordering with tears that threatened to spill.

"Yeah, we're not just going to stand by and do nothing if we're capable of helping too." Jaune spoke up as well.

It didn't take long before the majority of the rest of the room agreed to lend a hand wherever needed. Then, when Xera's eyes finally fell upon the supportive gaze of his girlfriend, those dark blue irises of his glimmered with a flash of gold for a split second.

A small spark of happiness crossed his repressed emotions.

For a few moments, Xera closed his eyes as he tried to sift through the words he wanted to say. It wasn't fair to bring them into this. It wasn't their problem to deal with. Hell, half of them were probably only doing this for his sake and his alone.

Which wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be in his head. The issue still remained, though, they offered their help… but they have no idea how over their own heads they were getting. They were dealing with something far more dangerous than a collection of grimm. This was on a whole other level. The effectiveness of anyone's help would be little to nothing at all. In fact, Xera didn't even think half of them _could _help him-

"You might as well just accept it." Rideat cut in, tearing Xera away from his traveling thoughts.

"Yeah man, everyone has friends to help them out whenever they're in trouble." Sun said, reassuring the teen.

"For better or for worse dude, we have your back. We all do." Neptune added with a gesture to those around him.

Team SNAR was looking like the only team willing to speak up, until someone else stepped forward as well, "We know that it's probably dangerous. But we're huntresses and huntsmen. We may be in training, but we still hold a lot to our names with the accomplishments we've done." Velvet commented as she joined the others.

"Velvs is right. We live with danger. It's both our best friend and our greatest enemy, no matter how you look at it." Coco tacked on.

It was an… idealistic way of thinking about it. Xera had always ignored the odds. He's placed the risks at his back and just simply moved forward. No consequences to his actions, no downside to his decisions, just… recklessly moving forward.

He didn't know if it was hope that drove him, anger that fueled him, or the support that carried him onward. A clear reason couldn't be found in his mind for the actions he's taken up until this point, and to be frank, it wasn't that far off from a death wish.

It was almost as if he couldn't care less about his own life if it meant others would benefit from it. He's already had almost all of it taken away by the very corporation that's rendered his brother at the edge of death.

Up until this point, he's been careless.

But now? When he has the chance to save someone's life, someone already so close to him, and take back what he himself caused his brother to suffer?

He couldn't take this as lightly as he's taken all the other problems. This held so much more weight… that it wasn't at all easy to entrust that help into the countless willing hands before him.

"You know, friends are made for a reason."

Xera's thoughts quickly came to a halt. The voice came from nearby, at his side actually, and he turned his head to see that Dante had been the one to say something now.

"I've been told countless times in the past that your bonds with friends strengthen you. That relying on someone else, rather than doing everything on your own, is the best way to solve your issues." Dante then lifted his one non-damaged arm to point a thumb at his own chest, "This guy right here used to do everything just like that. I hated the aspect of friends stepping in solely because I'd rather suffer through the issue to prevent even a single one of them from getting hurt for someone like me."

_That sounds… just like her… _Xera's eyes widened slightly, Dante's words striking a familiarity from his past.

Leona used to tell him things like that. Xera had always looked back on every moment with his mother fondly. She had one of the most optimistic ideals to support the heart she bore for her family. Even now, he could still hear her voice if he let himself stray from reality and focus on his memories.

She had always believed that a bond with someone is a priceless gift. It was something to be cherished and strengthened. That… it would one day save him and support him. Bonds were forged for countless reasons, and throughout all of the possibilities, none of them were seemingly bad.

At least, that was what he thought at the time. She made it sound like bonds with others were the most important aspects of one's life.

Maybe he should start believing in that idealistic idea… once again.

"Trust me. Take it from a guy who's already experienced the ups and downs of relying on friends. It's better for you to have faith in those that care about you. Above everything else, just trust them. You can't go wrong and no one will blame you if you mess up." Dante finished.

_He's right. _Xera once again glanced over the peers before him, finally finding those words he couldn't call upon beforehand, "Thanks you… all of you. I'm… really grateful for each of you, and the fact that you've stuck around for as long as you have."

They could've been doing other things tonight. They didn't have to be here.

"If I can find a way for any of you to help, then I will. I'll be counting on you." Xera said as he turned toward the door once again, "It means a lot."

With that last comment, he made his way out into the hallway and turned in the direction his aura screamed at him not to go. Through his fire affinity, he felt the very air of the direction he was headed grow colder, and he knew in his heart that that's where he'll find the demon that stood between him and his brother.

He soon turned his gaze to the side, noticing Dante fall in line with him in the hallway, as the two took the next corner and followed the shadows of the encroaching darkness.

Dante turned his head toward Xera, "Are you ready?"

"For the most part." Xera said, nodding his head slightly. He ran through everything that's been said to him, running through the dangers, the support… the consequences. His determination grew, wanting to prove all those facts and chances wrong.

He needed to find a way. That's what mattered.

"Alright Xera, this is going to sound weird and will most likely be very hard to understand, but we'll be entering Zerath's Mind and Soul."

Xera glanced toward Dante, taking in his words after a moment of silence, "As in, the general terms for mind and soul or…?" He trailed off.

"No, the real deal. The Mind and Soul are highly important in all of this."

"I understand."

"You do?"

"No, I just wanted to say that because you thought otherwise. But," He paused, "I do see where you're going."

"Still have a bit of that sense of humor I see. Good for you, I thought it'd be, well, a lot harder on you."

"I'm trying not to think about it." Xera replied softly before glancing toward Dante slightly, "How are we going to enter those areas?"

"Think of it this way. Soul-Slasher did the exact same thing, only the Dark Entity had no intention of coming back out. It just goes to show that it's possible. However, for use, we'll be doing it in a much more painless way. We have someone who can project our own Mind and Souls into Zerath's."

"There's no real way to explain this… is there? Without forcing it through a magical definition with no science to it…"

"Well, you're not wrong. It's mostly magic, in a way."

"Figured."

"Anyway, listen. In order to prepare you for doing something like that, and trust me you'll need it for where we're going, I need to take you through a bit of a Crash Course to help you out."

"Wouldn't that be wasting time?"

"Not at all. Time in the Mind moves a _lot _faster than in reality. So, we can be in there for hours and only thirty minutes would've gone by in the real world."

"Okay… well what's this Crash Course going to include?"

The tiled floor of the hallway soon started to transition into blackened frost and patches of ice, causing Dante to quicken his pace a little to take them to the furthest door, "You'll see."

* * *

The cracking of ice drenched the biting air with a cold, chilling thickness inside the room. Dark shadows of solid crystals swirled with a dense blackness only a bottomless abyss could achieve, encompassing even the lights and rendering the room in a blanket of darkness.

Muffled, the iced door opened with a series of cracks, the result of the spanning ice re-encasing it every time it closed. Xera and Dante made their way into the room before closing the door behind them, Xera's own gaze immediately turned to look at Zerath upon his bed while Dante tossed the black journal onto the nearest table.

"There they are." A young girl spoke, her hooded gaze turning to Xera as she knelt down beside Inuba's own kneeling form. Her pale hand rested on Inuba's shoulder. Who seemed to have her eyes closed at the moment and happened to be focusing on Zerath's sleeping body.

Some of her white flames flickered off her skin and branched out, encompassing parts of Zerath in a soft blaze.

"Inuba's going to keep the darkness exuding from the Dark Entity within him at bay. For now, I must turn my own focus to the two of you. Is he ready?" The girl stood up and turned to Dante.

The white haired teen soon grabbed the nearest chair and pulled it out from the nearby desk, "Yeah, we're all set. We need to save as much time as possible so I'll inform him about everything once we're inside."

"That will work."

Xera glanced toward the other person in the room and locked eyes with Destiny for a moment, only to watch her make her way to the door and open it once again, "I'll get him another chair."

She disappeared into the hallway a moment later as Xera then turned to the person he didn't recognize standing before him, "Are you the friend Dante mentioned?"

"I'm… glad he did not use any other term to describe me."

"She's my stalker." Dante said with a smirk, only to receive a punch to the shoulder from the girl cloaked in white.

"Yes, I am the friend he has most likely mentioned. I'll be the one to project the two of your Souls, along with the consciousness of your Minds, into Zerath's. I believe Dante informed you of the Crash Course before that, correct?"

"More or less." Xera replied honestly.

"Good. Let us begin then." The girl responded with a hidden, but kind, smile.

Just then, Destiny made her way back into the room with a neighboring chair. She set that one near Dante's before sitting herself up onto the table, interested to see where this was being taken.

Before long, Xera found himself sitting in the seat next to Dante's own chair and glancing up at the young girl expectantly. He wasn't sure exactly _what_ he was expecting. Just that he was expecting something in general.

"Be careful, Xera. When entering another's mind, you can easily lose your sense of self. You'll not only experience the memories and dreams of that person, you will also feel them in your own soul. You have to be ready for that."

"I guess that's why I'm the best candidate for Zerath's mind." Xera concluded.

"Precisely. You two already share a bond from the past and countless precious memories. It will be easy for you to traverse the realms with little drawbacks."

"Okay, well I'm ready. What's this Crash Course Dante mentioned?"

"It is exactly that." The girl spoke, before approaching the two teens sitting in front of her and placing a gentle hand on each of their foreheads, "Close your eyes. And, Dante?"

"Yes?"

"Don't do anything drastic." With that final safety warning in place, Xera found his eyes closing as a bright light began shining from the girl's hands. Its colors blended into his darkened vision, blinding him entirely before he felt his body go limp and his consciousness suddenly drift elsewhere.

As if he had just fallen asleep.

* * *

A weightlessness settled over Xera's soul. It wasn't the same for when he'd fly freely through the air, no. It was different. It was as if he was in a perpetual state of levitation…

No direction to fall, no sense of direction to begin with, just… suspended in a veil of ethereal white. All of that slowly started to fade, though, and with its descent, he felt his own soul start to fall as well. He soon felt something solid press up against the soles of his sneakers and once again felt darkness blanket his vision.

He could breathe again.

That was the first sign of reanimation. Xera then realized he could clench his fingers, the solid feel of his palms against his fingertips rushing through his mind before he turned his head ever so slightly. It was then that he opened his eyes and had a look around.

He was… in what looked to be a white room. No end was in sight, just… a flat whiteness in every direction. That was… until he heard the echoing footsteps of someone else.

"Welcome to my Mind and Soul, Xera."

Xera turned around to see Dante standing a few feet away, his hands outstretched in a widely gesturing manner with a confident smile on his face. His right arm was no longer bandaged either, which meant that their physical bodies didn't get projected at all in here.

Just their appearances did in terms of physical aspects. Dante's injury must've left itself behind in the real world.

"Oh… so this is the Crash Course you were talking about…"

"You bet."

"This is going to suck in every way… isn't it…?"

"Ehh, I wouldn't go that far."

Xera let out a quiet sigh before turning to face his friend, "Alright then. Teach me… I guess."

Dante's hands fell back to his sides as the light of the widely spanning room suddenly began to warp, "Cool, then let's begin. First thing's first, I'll be taking you to the Hall of Memories."

"Couldn't it have a cooler name?"

"Shut up, I'm not that great with names. Besides, it fits well with what it is."

"Fair enough." Xera shrugged as he watched the white expanse of, well, nothingness suddenly pull inward and a distant door suddenly come into view. It stood on its own, a white frame encompassing it while the door itself looked to be made out of a lightly colored wood.

It miraculously warped even closer, as if the distance it had once been was completely reduced and nonexistent. As if it wasn't even far away, to begin with.

With an ominous silence to it, it came to a stop. Standing completely on its own, the door remained still and tall before the two teens, golden handle glimmering in the nonexistent light.

"Shall we?" Dante asked, approaching the door and gesturing Xera to follow.

Xera silently nodded his head, unsure of really what to think at the moment as he approached the door himself.

"Open it. And we shall begin."

Then, with a pale but cautious hand, Xera reached forward and grasped the golden handle before him, "I guess there's only one way to find out what's behind door number one." With that, he turned the handle and pushed it open.

* * *

**This chapter was specially edited by Sky, my co-author. Her involvement with the story has dropped ever since the plot has thickened, in case none of you were aware (in the middle of the Tournament Arc). The same can be easily said for my beta-reader. I plan to get Sky more involved with the story, though. This was just one of the ways she wanted to help out.**

**Which, might I add, was very kind and awesome of her to do. She's basically an embodiment of all her English teachers, so, her edits were very thorough, plentiful, and incredibly appreciated.**

**The improvement in quality for this chapter is thanks to her.**

**Also, she counted up all of my ellipses. Since, I used a TON of them XD. My bad. The total count was roughly 83 before I changed some.**

**As for the contents of that strange turn of events, I'll make sure to explain everything in the next chapter. Xera will learn the ins and outs of being projected into another person's Mind and Soul. How this unknown girl is capable of this… You all will just have to keep thinking on that one.**

**It is quite the mystery XD. I shall not reveal anything.**

**Now, did anyone catch the idealistic and optimistic view Leona has? I wonder what that can be alluding to… because, well, it does mean something. Trust me. And it helps me explain a very important concept later on.**

**But you won't know for now, so… yeah. Have fun with that little thought.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	66. Fragmented Affinity in Memory's Reach

**College. I don't suppose I need to say anything more than that simple word. I've started my first year. I'm not going to go into it too much, just know that my free time is limited.**

**I'll try to place a lot of the free time I do have toward writing, since it's a hobby I've come to greatly enjoy. Hopefully, things will calm down with the more I learn to adjust to the new life.**

**In any case, I'll do my best to keep my writings alive.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 66: Fragmented Affinity in Memory's Reach

**Third Person**

There are 213,000 people that make up the population of the Kingdom of Vale. Less than half of that population even knows what aura so much as looks like, even fewer know someone who possesses aura. 8% of the Kingdom's entire population die every ten years to incidents involving Grimm. That's 17,040 lives lost to an unknown threat. 3% of that number are people who possess aura, rounding to about 511 aura users every decade.

160 aura users of that population currently attend the renowned school of Beacon Academy every year throughout all of its four graduating classes. Only 39% of those students graduate with adequate grades, an insignificant 62 slightly successful combatants. 61% fail out and waste their energy, 98 failures.

The world wastes its resources. Civilization, as a race, wastes its time and energy fighting back the infestation of Grimm residing in all the darkest reaches of the globe.

If humanity can't fight them, then it doesn't deserve to survive as a thriving race.

Civilization is dwindling. It's no longer just surviving.

Two glinting boots rested one crossed over the other, locked in a perch atop a new pristine black desk. A ruckus of machinery and construction equipment rumbled dully through the large dusty windows behind him, but he paid them no mind.

A new office. A new phase of his plans.

Hands interlaced behind his head, he left himself to entertain the thoughts that started this very initiative.

The world was fighting against a threat it simply couldn't win against. They knew little of what slayed them, they knew not of its origins or its source. They simply knew it existed. That one thought was enough to prompt the most basic of all intentions ever conceived by anyone with a conscience.

To survive.

He despised the very thought of it. It irked him how utterly idiotic society had become.

His brows furrowed, for only a moment, before his thoughts moved on.

His earliest stages of research delved into the development and understanding of the naturally born resource known as Dust. He knew of its purposes and its types, yet only a few truly questioned whether or not it could be used for more than the straightforward paths it contained.

Their planet contained the elements. It was simple. Remnant possessed elemental ores that could be energized in different ways. Each way could either result in combustion, exertion of energy, or consumption of energy, depending on which Dust was energized.

How one energized such crystals? Either through aura or specific other means to allow the dust to be used through mechanical systems.

All Dust reacts to aura. That was what set him off on his research to further investigate this matter. This strange phenomenon… Why? Why would minerals, mined from the depths of the planet, respond to something as alive, as organic, as aura conceived and exuded from a living human being?

What was the relation?

He found his answer three years after beginning his research. Examination of subjects who possessed aura surfaced an inquiry that was a major oversight from the world of science and common understanding. How does a human regenerate their aura?

Does it come from their digestive systems? Does it generate from the calories they ingest? Or, is it simply a natural process? Like pumping blood out of your heart or growing new cells to replace older ones.

Or, was there more to it…

His findings led him to the discovery of a specific gene found in the DNA of unique individuals. Every human being in existence has a derivation of this gene, faunus included. However, very few actually possess the direct descendants of where this gene originated.

This gene allows for the creation, manipulation, and regeneration of aura and allows it to interact with external pieces of the environment. Dust crystals included.

Different splices and evolutions of this gene can be found in each individual person. The very proof of this is the concept that every individual on the planet has potential to possess aura. It's only a matter of unlocking it and how much that person has available to them. However, one individual he's found in the past… actually possessed a much stronger version.

An evolution that dated back to ancient times, back when aura had only first been conceived.

The specific genetic makeup of this discovery was unbelievable. Usually, the simple gene, depending on its deviation from its ancestral tree, allowed the user varying accessibility to the aura it adapted their body to produce.

The stronger the gene, meaning the closer it was to the makeup of its ancestors, determined how extensively one could manipulate aura.

This individual… it was incredible. It was as if their gene was a direct descendent, literally passed down through the generations to ultimately reside within that single soul.

A small smile tugged at the man's lips, thinking back to the old phoenix he encountered that day.

That bloodline, that heritage, it carried the exact gene he had solved so many unanswered questions with.

A pure-blood family of phoenix. His research then led him to discover the creation and expansion of the Angels of Death Corporation. How they were related to the mass slaughter of the phoenix race.

Oh, how naïve they were…

Thankfully, a single bloodline survived.

Once he took over the company and rewrote its ideals, he created a new initiative to pursue as he continued his research into the development and discovery of this special gene.

Seven years into his research, he was able to locate a second one. Only, it was in the genetic makeup of a fox yōkai. It was strange, how this gene seemed to prefer the rarer pieces of civilization. Even further down the road, he found a third. This one… was different.

It had a similar genetic makeup as the other two, however… It was a perfect mirror of the structure of the last. Simply put, it was opposite, yet maintained its full power.

More questions arose, and he delved further. He found a similar phenomenon in history throughout the centuries of human evolution. The ancients called these strange people possessors of a celestial power. Power that was given to them by the gods.

Bearers of the Affinity Fragment.

Curiosity led to drive, drive led to research, and he eventually reached the epiphany of his entire career as a scientist.

These specific and unique genes had a purpose. They did not only possess a stronger correlation between the user and their aura, but they possessed a hidden perk that only the ancient civilizations of the past truly explored. The gene's relation to Dust.

Aura was connected to Dust. Somehow, it had a correlation. With another five years tacked onto his research, he discovered that, within these unique genes, there was a genetic component that suggested the presence of a very specific elemental type. A catalyst.

His hypothesis was proven when he discovered how potent certain elemental Dust crystals reacted to these unique individuals.

It was impossible, implausible, unfeasible… It was evolutionary.

These Affinity Fragments contained direct biological structures that unequivocally connected them to certain elements. And, through his lifetime of research, he discovered only one element ever linked to one of these genes.

With how few and far between these genes were, he also theorized that there was only ever one of each elemental gene ever alive throughout the entire world. Or, even beyond that limit.

This discovery sparked a realization. Power resided in this world. Power beyond imagination and scientific explanation. Individuals existed, living and breathing out there in the reaches of creation. They contained these Affinity Fragments… Individuals who had no idea what they were truly capable of… contained so much potential.

This was a weapon. This was a way to finally get that upper hand that civilization desperately needed.

The goals of the AoD changed that day. It was time to seek out these individuals, uncover the truth behind their Affinity Fragments, and somehow…

Recreate the genetic makeup of these unique pieces of their DNA.

If he could do that… the role of humanity would be changed… forever.

On the thirty-eighth year of his devoted research, he finally discovered how to do exactly that.

A knock soon tapped into his senses and he opened his eyes. The light was fading now, slanting through the windows behind him as he gazed at the darkening image of his office door.

"Steven is that you?!"

The door soon opened and in stepped the simpleton that he deemed as his assistant so long ago.

"Y-yes, sir! I have your coffee-"

"Excellent!" Two heavy clunks struck the floor as the man removed his heavy boots from his desk as he flexed his metal-clad fingers together, planting his silver gauntlets against the desk in front of him soon after, "Bring me my life essence."

With a small nod, his assistant delivered to the man his daily cup of brew. Outsourced from an underground network that only those in powerful positions ever knew about.

"Good, good," The man said softly as he took a sip of his drink, turning to observe the progress of the workers below, "The excavation is slightly behind, but no matter. We will unearth the beasty in time."

"S-sir, if I may," Steven spoke up, "There was a report issued two hours ago about one of our facilities-"

"Yes, our facility in Krono Desert." The man interrupted, already aware of the matter, "Damn, what made that one a target? Why not the one in Sahara? Or even Eden?"

"Speculation has arisen on the matter, sir. We are looking into-"

"Steven," The man cast a heartwarmingly lethal glance over his shoulder. One that distilled petrification, experience, acceptance, and dominance all in a single moment. Steven swallowed nervously. "Thank you for the coffee. Now, I have an order that I would like you to deliver to my second in command."

Steven nodded affirmatively.

"Call in Niro and Kyzal to investigate the matter. They'll ensure any future incidents will never happen. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good! Very good," The man smiled as he turned back to the window, "An inconvenience at best. My plans are still going flawlessly."

Another smile tugged at his reflection's face, eyes drifting over the countless workers throughout the excavation site below.

"Everything is going according to plan. It would be boring… if he stayed dead."

* * *

A blinding white light engulfed Xera as he pushed the door open. The white world behind him blurred out of existence as Dante stepped past him and entered the frame. He followed, watching as the mental world melted away in the new pale light.

Refusing to close his eyes, he watched in curiosity as a hallway stretched and bent into focus before pulling inward and zipping passed him. Countless black wooden doors rushed by his standing form as his hair flew back by a small push of wind, watching as Dante smiled and held up his hand, stopping the rushing hallway in an instant.

It almost seemed unbelievable… Yet, here he was.

"This is the Hall of Memories." Dante explained, gesturing behind Xera then in front of them.

A seemingly infinitely expanding hallway reached the pinpoint distances down both ends that Xera glanced, "How precise is it? It seems like you have a lot of memories in here…"

"It registers every memory you can ever hope to reimagine. Some are short, some are extensive, but they are all recallable. Unfortunately, for most people, almost all of their doors are harder to open than fresh ones." Dante said as he began walking, Xera following, "Not everyone can freely remember certain moments in their life. So, access to those memories is more difficult to obtain."

"Makes sense," Xera commented as he let his gaze wander. Some of the doors seemed… damaged. As if waiting to be rebuilt in some way. "So, you mentioned the Mind and Soul. What were you talking about?"

"Right, well, in order to do that I have to tell you about Memory and Dream Reels." Dante said, the two falling into pace with each other as they walked.

"Memory and Dream Reels. I can probably guess what those mean."

"Possibly," Dante admitted with a smile, "Well, when traveling inside the Mind and Soul, Memories and Dreams can have powerful impacts on a person's state of mind. As well as how their Internal World works."

"So, depending on what kind of person you are, or how your life has been afflicted. It'll ultimately determine what the Mind and Soul will look and feel like?"

"Exactly. If you've got bad memories and dreams, the Inner World's going to look like one huge mess and pretty much turn into a Nightmare Realm. You can pretty much guess what that entails."

"And it's vice versa with good memories and dreams, I assume."

Dante nodded after his next stride, "Considering a Dark Entity forcefully invaded your brother's body, the inside is definitely not going to look so good. Think of it as like a miniature version of Hell, but both colder and smaller."

"It'll be infested by darkness." Xera said, eyes glancing at each black door he passed.

"All of these doors are Access Points. Gaining access to them can be tricky, but it all depends on what kind of door each one is. Some can be fabricated too, depending on how extensively you dream. Some can be real, like memories you make throughout your life." Dante explained as the two soon came to a stop in front of one of the doors, "All of them gather in the Hall of Memories."

"So, they're access to the Memory and Dream Reels you were talking about. In case there's a need to personally view them or review them. It's like data storage for scrolls, in a way." Xera responded.

"Yup, that's exactly what they are," Dante said as he moved up to one door and grasped its handle, "Like~" He pushed the door open with a crack of light before an image was rendered on the other side of it. As if the room only generated when you opened a specific door.

All it took was one glance.

Xera's slightly puzzled expression soon burned hotter than his own fire, dusting in a hue of red that could only be achieved through certain fantasies of life and dreams.

"What? What is it?" Asked Dante, holding the door open as he looked toward Xera in confusion.

Xera only lifted up a finger and pointed it forwards, refusing to let his mind even consider to find the words to describe exactly what he was seeing.

It was then that Dante joined his friend's side and saw what the phoenix saw. Inside was a rather large bedroom with an unnaturally large bed. Under its covers was the white haired teen himself, gazing at the beautiful sight in front of him.

All throughout the bed were easily recognizable women that he- _slam!_

The door suddenly closed and Xera watched as Dante repeatedly bashed his head against its black wooden surface, muttering to himself with an equally red face.

Xera then heard what seemed to be a silent scream come from his friend as he let out a restricted and rapid breath, "Whoops."

"Yeah… Okay, I think I have a pretty good idea what Memory and Dream Reels are all about." Xera said as he looked away from the face of the door, then he switched his gaze to Dante. "You sir… you have an unchecked libido under your control. I don't know why yet, but that's one hell of a fantasy."

It wasn't stated lightly either, that was seriously one hell of a fantasy.

"I-I…I can explain." Dante found a way to squeeze out a few words in his hotheaded stupor, hand soon slapped over his face with a blank stare in his eyes.

"Yeah, well Ruby and Inuba I can understand. Fate, Destiny, and Coco as well. But come on man… Glynda and… whoever else that was? Your fantasies go pretty far…" Xera said with an amused smile.

"It's not my fault." Dante was quick to say.

"Then whose fault is it?"

Dante glanced toward Xera for a moment, then back to the door, "I blame natural selection."

"Holy mother of pancakes, I knew it!"

All Xera got was a look of confusion.

"You can explain yourself now." The phoenix then said with a small laugh and another amused smirk.

Dante just shook his head with his own amusement, "You… You weren't entirely wrong about the uh… libido thing…" He said softly.

Xera waited for him to continue, only to watch the white haired teen slap another hand over his face as he let out another silent scream. Then proceeded to slap his face numerous times extra to prepare himself.

"Due to my heritage as being part Dark Entity," Dante paused, letting out a reluctant breath as he did so, "I… oh dear god… I have a heightened- no, an extremely heightened libido."

Xera was trying to contain himself. He really was.

"And because of that," Dante paused again, "Anything from a simple bounce of… uh, well… you know, to 'accidents' is enough to send me over the edge."

Stop laughing. It isn't funny. It isn't.

It really is.

"I think I may have gouged out my eyes one time because of a situation like that once." Dante finished with a deep exhale.

"Well," Xera quickly coughed into his fist as he hid his smile, "Clearly you've mastered the art of holding back then. Since you haven't gone off the edge yet, from what I've seen." Xera said, relating back to the moment the two performed that memory transfusion.

"Heh, no kidding." Dante replied as he rubbed his neck.

"Hey, you attend Beacon after all. It honestly has the largest population of beautiful women, which is saying something." Xera continued, "Not just that, but Inuba is extremely loyal to you. You're a smart guy, so I know that you know how she really feels about you. You just happen to be taken."

As Dante glanced toward Xera, the phoenix could only look away with a shake of the head.

"I can only imagine what you go through every time Inuba either vaguely offers you her services or you two have another one of your recurring accidents involving clothes. Or, lack thereof…" Xera's amusement was still strong, though less noticeable now, with the exception of his humorous silver eyes, "Stay loyal. I'm starting to think you don't even care about your actual girlfriend if you keep this up, but you're holding strong nonetheless."

"I care about her more than you know." Dante stated, "But, Inuba… she's…" He looked away and sighed, "She's my Familiar. And, it's just… I don't think she sees me in that light. I think. I mean, if she did, she would have said something by now. Right…?"

"Oh, believe me. Once you get skilled at reading people, you don't need them to say a single word. It's all in how they act, their posture, even facial expressions and tone of voice. They all tell a story." Xera said, before patting Dante on the shoulder and looking down the hallway, "What that story may entail? Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."

Either that or she'll eventually come clean with her feelings. For now, Xera knew Dante wanted to stay loyal to Ruby. Even if he was dreaming about stuff like they just saw. It explains why he doesn't sleep much, actually.

"Shall we move on?" Xera asked.

"Yes, but one last thing. No one- Hey!" Dante snapped, catching Xera's wandering attention, "Look at me! No one. Can ever. Know. About…" He said as he pointed towards the door they had opened, "That."

"I shall take this secret to my grave," Xera said, crossing his arms. "Or, for the right price." He tacked on with a smile. And just like a sly info broker, he just had to add in that last comment.

Of course, though, he really would keep this a secret.

It wasn't like he was new to the game, after all.

"I really don't need those two hearing about this." Dante said lowly.

"Then don't teach Ruby how to make French toast. My one and only weakness." Xera retorted.

"No, not her! Them!" Dante stated clearly, though his clarification was abysmal.

"Them who?"

"The dynamic duo! That's who!" Dante explained like Xera knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Them from your reality, or mine, or…?"

"Destiny and Fate!" Dante finally clarified.

"Ah…" Xera suddenly realized what the teen was so scared of, "Aren't they in a thing with Velvet, though?"

"I think that was just them flirting. But seriously, if they find out, they'll either try to tease me more or try to kill me. I really don't know which, to be honest." Dante shuddered at the thought.

"You may or may not receive both, depending on who's taking control at the time." Xera said with a shake of the head, "If anything, one would likely tease you… as she kills you."

Another shudder ran down his spine, "I have your word, right?"

"You have it."

"Good, then let's move on." Dante sighed once more. He was glad _that _was behind them now, "Let's just take you to one of my more recent memories. You need a bit of combat practice inside this realm."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes. As you can see, you don't have the ability to bring physical objects along for the ride. The proof is in the pudding. Where's your weapon?" Dante pointed out.

Xera figured as much, "I noticed it when we first entered. But it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?" Dante asked. He thought Xera wasn't one for hand to hand combat, especially with how often he tended to favor parrying and redirecting physical clashes. Rather than taking them head on.

"I need to train more with my affinity anyway. It'll do me good to focus on using it for now." Xera replied.

"I thought your affinity was limited," Dante then realized something, "Wait, all that glass… covering the stretch of the desert where we found you… that was you?"

"Yeah, for the most part." Xera said with a nervous chuckle, his bangs drifting slightly as they whispered in silent hymns of smoldering ash. Each strand glowing at the tips as they trailed in subtle streaks of flame.

"…no kidding," Dante said, noticing the display in front of him, "Well, that's awesome. It makes things even easier."

"Yup. Though, I'm still getting used to using it now that it's fully unlocked."

"Don't know how to limit your exertion yet?" Dante asked.

"Not yet."

"Eh," Dante pat Xera's shoulder, "You'll figure it out eventually. For now, how about we just throw you into the deep end and see what happens." He then said with a smile, before grasping at a nearby door and shoving it open.

* * *

Inuba let out a soft breath as her tail gently swayed back and forth. Her hands then came carefully back to her sides as she glanced back to the mysterious girl behind her.

As well as the two teens resting in a light-induced stasis in front of her.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. But, aren't you supposed to keep monitoring Zerath?" Destiny asked, catching the fox yōkai's attention.

"I know they will. However, I do not need to be here to keep an eye on Zerath. I have done everything in my power. All I can do now… is wait." Inuba explained quietly.

Destiny's face scrunched up slightly in apprehension, "You don't have to stick around then. If you want to take a walk, I can keep an eye on things here. Just clear your head a bit."

"I'll be fine." Inuba sighed, "My magic is independent. I do not need to be in its direct vicinity for it to work. However, I can still sense when it is disturbed. So, thank you for the offer."

"Then you have an even greater reason to take a walk then. Let your mind have some rest. Those two won't be coming out for a little while longer."

Inuba cast a quiet crimson gaze back and met with Destiny's own lilac one before she took a slow and silent breath, "I suppose I do have one other matter to attend do."

"Another matter?" Destiny asked.

"Yes, I was able to sense and approximate when the young girl would likely wake up." Inuba replied without clarifying, causing a twinge of annoyance to pass over Destiny, "I will be back. Keep an eye on things, okay?"

Destiny's eyes followed Inuba's form as she made her way to the icy door, then pulled it open with a muffled crack, "Fine. Do what you need to, I'll be here… being useless… as it seems to be lately."

Inuba shook her head softly with a smile, "I know what you did in the tournament. You are undoubtedly not useless. If it were not for you, that Dark Entity might have had enough power to take Zerath over on the spot."

A light hum came from Destiny's pressed lips, but she didn't refute the compliment, "Thanks."

Whether or not the wolf-faunus believed her was unsure, but Inuba left the room soon after and closed the door behind her. She then began making her way to a new room on the other side of the infirmary wing.

The young girl from the desert was placed in the furthest room away from the dark menace behind her. Something she suggested, something Ozpin was happy to oblige to. Inuba wasn't entirely sure what was done to that poor girl, but as a whole, she seemed physically fine.

On a mental standpoint, though… She wasn't sure.

It was better not to assume, for now.

Those were her thoughts as she ventured through the infirmary halls, and after a few minutes entered the room of the young kitsune girl she only had a moment to try and heal earlier.

It was a singular infirmary room this time. Much like when Pyrrha was recovering after her fight with Zerath. Inuba made her way inside and closed the door behind her with a soft click.

The sound was enough for one of the smaller girl's white fox ears to twitch, but it wasn't enough to wake her quite yet. Inuba walked over to a nearby chair, making sure she was careful about the noise levels she was making. She glanced once more at the girl before moving the seat to the kitsune's side and positioning herself there.

She was a fox yōkai herself, so she was likely the best candidate to really be present when the girl first woke up. There was one other, though. Inuba had noticed a small trace of Xera's own aura signature lingering within the small girl in front of her.

It was strange. Somehow, the phoenix either used his aura to heal her… or in doing so, he managed to unlock her aura as well. Which gave the girl a very small piece of his own.

That small trace of aura was enough for those two to naturally have a bond between one another. It's why aura users interact so well with the person who happened to unlock their own aura. Generally, though, those types of situations are normal and result in no remaining traces of either aura signature within the other.

This case must have been different.

Especially since the traces remained.

Inuba's thoughts soon came to a close though as the small girl before her rolled over. It was the first signs of consciousness that she's seen from the girl over the last two times she's been in her presence.

The small girl's blanket fell down for a moment, revealing the slim black covering pulled against her shoulder. The material seemed to be thin and form-fitting, something someone would wear to protect them from extensive exposure to water.

Her suit reached up to cover a majority of her throat, but Inuba soon noticed that the front of it was unzipped slightly. Likely to help her regulate her breathing, but it revealed a small portion of the front of her pale neck. The zipper stopped at her breastbone.

A lightly balled pale hand worked its way out of the blanket as it fell against the bed in front of her softly, cheek cuddling into the fluffy confines of her pillow as her legs followed the actions of her hand. They soon curled up slightly as well.

What followed nearly had Inuba fawning over the display before her.

The girl's bunched up fox tails curled up and poked out of the front of her blanket. All three of them seemed to cluster together into one larger tail, and she soon used it as a softer pillow as it pushed into the front of her form.

Spanning completely in front of her now and slightly beneath her, she nestled comfortably into the silken frost fur of her tails. Her furry ears then folded partially in contentment as her emotionless face finally scrunched up slightly, then relaxed into a small state of bliss.

A couple strands of her white hair fell before her face for a moment, but it only added to the thought Inuba was currently having.

_Adorable…_

* * *

A small crumble of black stones slipped over the cliff ledge before them. Small fragments sifting downward as they bounced and cracked, then fell into nothingness as they softly impacted the ground below.

The stones disappeared soon after as a sweeping fog swept over the land before them. Eerily, the fog rolled quietly and slowly over the vast expanse of a grim battlefield below. Embedded in the ground rested countless weapons.

Thousands of swords, axes, guns, blades of every kind, a limitless variety of weaponry lay scattered in remains across the surface beneath them. A dreary curse clung to the very air they breathed, stinging their lungs as the memory's Access Point closed behind them.

"Well, this place seems morbid." Xera commented, gazing over the edge.

"I had the same thought the first time I saw this place." Dante admitted, "I was only a kid at the time."

"Really?"

"Well, technically yes. Yes, I was." Dante said with a smile, "Welcome to the Graveyard of Sins, Xera."

"A graveyard huh? I can only imagine what that entails." Xera responded.

"Only one way to find out," Dante returned, before stepping closer to the edge and leaning over it, "I don't suppose you're still reluctant about hiding your wings?"

"Unfortunately," Xera said, taking a few steps back, "Once you've seen them. It's kind of hard to forget." With that said, he ran up to the ledge and leaped off of its slight overhang. Two sleek black wings slipped out of Xera's sweatshirt as he made a dive for the ground.

The fog beneath him forcefully dispersed as he came to a soft landing, touching down at the base of the cliff as he turned his gaze, watching Dante soon impact the ground to his right.

"I pegged you as the kind of guy to still feel reluctant about showing his wings." Dante said as he stepped out of his small crater, "Guess I was a little off with that."

"You're not wrong," Xera responded, "I'm still reluctant about it. The situation in the desert just kind of called for it, in a way. If I didn't step in…"

"Someone might have gotten hurt." Dante finished for him, "But still, you seem pretty okay with it right now."

Xera's wings unfurled slightly before spanning outward, stretching once more as they uncurled themselves. His entire outfit was black, which meant his wings only complimented that look even further, "For lack of a better reason right now…" Xera paused as he cast his gaze over his right wing, "The situation calls for it."

"Heh, you really like your vague answers don't you…?" Dante sighed as he met the phoenix's eyes.

"Only when I don't want to provide you with an insightful answer." Xera replied with a cheeky smile.

The ground beneath them suddenly quaked, forcing the two to struggle for a moment before gaining their balance. Directly ahead of them the fog suddenly thickened, sweeping over the dark lands as countless shadowy graves soon opened.

Spectral figures of black emerged forth, clawing out of the stone and dirt as they ominously rose from the clutches of the dead. Ten became twenty, twenty became two hundred, and before they knew it, there became too many dark figures to count. The menacing force soon took up arms, grabbing the weapons from the ground as an army now stood before the two teens.

An army of ten thousand entities of shadow.

Humanoid creatures weren't the limit, no… Numerous larger beings also rose out of the ground. Each standing fifteen feet to twenty feet in height, there simply wasn't an end to them.

Then in the distance, a colossal creature of darkness slowly stood. Trails of darkened dirt and ash sifted over its figure as it rose, taking up a monstrous sword in the process as it unleashed a distorted roar across the drifting lands of the graveyard.

"I don't suppose you had help fighting these things back then?" Xera asked, unsure of whether to feel confident or apprehensive about fighting this many adversaries.

"I had help." Dante admitted, glints of light flicking through the air in front of him as countless aura blades of white outlined in black became suspended motionlessly before him, "We should be able to take them… probably."

"And what happens if we take damage in here?" Xera asked.

"You still take damage in the real world. Your Mind and Soul got projected into mine, right? That means your soul is still in danger while it's in here."

"…great. So if I die, I die in real life." Xera concluded. Now wasn't that just a morbid thought.

"Pretty much."

Xera's wings tensed slightly as he shifted one foot back and leaned forward, hands falling to stretch out at his sides as they ignited in blazes of orange flame, "So we're fighting for our lives. Good to know."

Before either of them could make a move, a flood of clattering weapons suddenly striking the ground sounded out. The front line of figures before them began taking shaky steps backward as they ominously moved in unison.

_They're… retreating?_

The sound of their footfalls grew quieter up until the point all of the ground units at their front suddenly stopped moving altogether.

Silence then filled the air…

A soft, echoing footfall pushed itself into the tense atmosphere. A new twinge of pain suddenly wracked Dante's mind, forcing his vision to blur for merely a moment before the sensation passed.

Another footfall sounded out, one that softly drifted through the stilled air as the fog around them grew to a chilling stop.

The third caused the ground to unnaturally quake again, subtly at first, before violently shattering itself as its entire surface crumbled and ruptured.

Ten thousand figures of black were engulfed back into the ground, falling helplessly into its clutches once more… before a new fog swept over the entire battlefield.

Black mist poured over the edge of the cliff up above them, flooding into the area at their front as it engulfed the entire graveyard. Stone turned into glimmering black obsidian, dirt hardened into crystals of ebony…

And a chilling wind swept the frostbitten black fog into the far distance.

"Pitiful…" A new voice tore through the air with an icy tinge of condescending deepness, "I'd hardly call that an army."

As the black mist cleared and dispersed, the ground before them was revealed to be completely frozen over. What was once the Graveyard of Sins… was now a wasteland of cold, heartless, regret and sorrow.

Not a soul stirred as a new wind befell the lands.

A colder breeze brushed against the two teens, their eyes looking everywhere at once for this new voice. An unnatural presence now seemed to linger in the air, weighing down on them as it corrupted everything it touched into a cold accursed embrace.

"To think that they even stood a chance…" A wave of black mist suddenly flicked upward from the cold ground and whipped across the air, dispersing a moment later to reveal a new blackened humanoid figure in the distance.

He seemed… familiar. A foreboding eeriness carried itself thickly in his voice as a twisted smile pulled at the shadowy skin of his face. Blood red eyes shined in the dim light of the battlefield, twin pools of redness that glowed subtly in a smoldering haze.

A black detail-less coat covered his body. Its thin tails drifted as they trailed down the back of the figure's legs, reaching halfway down his calves. Similar black pants covered his legs as they led down to pristine dark boots of similar color.

_It couldn't… it can't be… _Xera's mind raced. This wasn't right. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. It couldn't be him.

Long black hair drifted across the figures deadly gaze, faint streaks of white prominently displayed in its reaches…

The figure then drew back a hand and pulled at a handle residing over its shoulder, withdrawing a pitch black claymore with a shining edge.

…_no._

Six feet long, one foot wide, the weapon dug into the ground as it was swept against the ice in a momentary swing.

Xera took a deep breath, closing his eyes to clear his thoughts for the time being. Opening them soon after.

He recognized it. The familiar barrel that ran down its spine, the trigger system beneath its hilt, the figure holding it in a wicked grasp of darkened skin…

It was him.

A dark chuckle resonated from the creature's throat as its bloody eyes stared at the two teens before it, "You came in here looking for a fight," The figure then swept his blade to the side, brandishing forth a sweeping arc of black ice that crashed into the ground before him, "How about you… entertain me, with your efforts."

"How did you get in here?" Dante called out, the pain from earlier in his mind no longer feeling so out of place as it did just then.

"Your mind, Dante, is quite the dark place. It practically pulled me inside with little resistance." The figure replied with another dark chuckle.

"Why are you even here, though? How did you… how are you…" Xera trailed off as he took a step forward, the flames dying from his grasp as his own eyes bled into shining ruby irises.

"Alive? Awake and breathing?" The figure's grin grew wider, "Zerath forfeited his life to bring me back into the world. All I need to do now… is walk out of here. And I'll be _free_."

It was Zerath. Everything about him remained the same only… every detail was tainted with evil and darkness.

"Stop lying through your teeth, we both know you're nothing more than a mere presence right now. There's no way you're a physical manifestation yet." Dante spoke up at Xera's side.

Those blood red eyes refused to leave Xera's own.

"Tsk. You're more naïve than I thought you were." Zerath spoke coldly.

In less than an instant, a spear of black ice rapidly appeared before Dante. He barely had time to react, only managing to save his chest from impalement but failing to save his arm. The razor sharp tip of the darkened ice plunged itself into the cliff wall behind them, cutting straight through Dante's flesh as if it wasn't even there.

_Fast… that was faster than ice should be capable of generating…_ Dante thought as he tore his arm free, letting his fresh wound close itself up and heal.

"What happened to Zerath?" Xera asked, walking over and grasping the rooted ice spear with his hand, eyes never leaving the figure before them.

"In terms that you mortals would understand, I killed him. He no longer exists. What you are looking at is nothing more than my new form… but with _all_ the perks of its previous owner." Zerath's smirk widened even further.

Xera's heated grasp crushed the spear into shards with a blast of fire, incinerating its remains as he began walking forward.

_How did he…? That was dark entity magic, or at least, it should've been mainly dark entity magic in that ice if they've merged. Simple fire shouldn't have been able to melt it so easily… _Dante's eyes caught the lingering flickers of light from the falling shards of ice before moving forward as well. _What kind of fire does Xera possess?_

"If that's the case," Xera said lowly, "Then you've taken the life of the last remaining family I have left in this world." A blaze followed his every step now, an inferno blindingly searing the icy ground as his wings became bathed in a sheen of shining flames, "That gives me the right to end you."

Zerath chuckled at the threat, "You have the right to end me? To kill me? I did your brother a favor and ended his insignificant existence once and for all. Trust me, his suffering-"

Dante suddenly lunged past Xera's side and tore a sharp aura blade through Zerath's torso, ripping through flesh and bone as black blood poured out onto the ground.

"I think it's time you stop acting all full of yourself." Dante said, fed up with the condescending presence Zerath was exuding.

"Oh? Says the creator's chew toy." Zerath rebuked with a streak of black, freezing the air around him solid before even a moment had gone by. Only for that ice to shatter an instant later as Xera's inferno burst out around him, freeing the two once more.

"Well, aren't you annoying." Blood eyes now fell on Xera, before a flurry of thin ice shards were lunged forward, crystalizing in the air into razor sharp lethal arrows.

Xera's wings deflected the flurry of projectiles while his fire dulled their points before they even impacted, getting rid of their piercing power altogether, "You exist. That's all I need to know in order to kill you." Xera said, dropping his wing and dashing forward in a haze of orange and an added surge of speed from his wings.

Zerath raised his blade and swung, only for his swing to clash heavily with Dante's own solidified aura blade as the teen kept it from so much as blocking anything in front of the entity.

Xera's attack connected as quickly as the interruption occurred, molten flames crashed into Zerath's chest as Xera planted both feet into it in a powerful diving kick. The impact was only increased by an eruption of flame, spiraling outward and through Zerath's figure as it engulfed his form before sending him skidding backward.

Dante then followed up, summoning a rapid cluster of aura swords before sending them forward in a flurry of projectiles, all of which Zerath managed to slash out of the air before dashing in himself and delivering a powerful upward swing, which Dante blocked.

The two clashed again as Xera dashed his way around and swept a kick beneath Zerath's legs, only to slam his leg against a cluster of ice that blocked his movement. The cluster then burrowed out of the ground and crashed into his body, black wings absorbing most of the blow as he was hit with the sudden kinetic force of a truck.

In the same moment that Xera was hit, another column of black ice erupted from beneath Dante and threw his form into the air, only for a new culmination of ice to appear above him as the column fell and that new cluster slammed the teen down into the hard ice of the ground.

"Arrogant. I think that's the term I'm looking for with the two of you." Zerath said, wiping a hand across his healing wounds before he snapped his fingers, shattering the ice crushing Dante. The teen, however, was no longer there, and Zerath had to quickly raise his blade to deflect a swing from above, "Slow as well."

Dante let go of his blade and landed on the ground, rapidly summoning a new one just as he plunged it forward into Zerath's abdomen, leaving it there as twelve other swords appeared in the air behind him and skewered Zerath from all directions.

"Slow huh? You couldn't even dodge a couple blades." Dante said as he stepped back for a moment.

"Who said I had any interest in dodging?" Zerath asked. The light of Dante's aura swords suddenly dulled as they seemingly froze over, then shattered instantly. The only one left being his solidified aura sword plunged deep inside the front of the entity's body, "They're hardly of any effect anyway."

He began to pull the blade out of his abdomen, only for a blur of lime green wisps of light to shoot past Dante and another burst of fire engulfed Zerath. Xera planted another kick, this time, though, it was directed onto the point of Dante's aura blade as he drove it straight through Zerath's body and sent it rocketing through his back and spine.

A splatter of black blood erupted out of Zerath as he grabbed Xera by the ankle and slammed him into the ground, following up with a plunge of the blade toward his heart only for his claymore to be bashed aside by Dante, giving Xera the moment he needed to rise back up and slash upward in a streak of blinding fire.

The color then flashed and combusted, blowing outward in another explosion that forced Zerath to dodge backward and slash through another flurry of aura swords.

"Let me try something." Dante suddenly said, standing in front of Xera now as he summoned a new aura blade and plunged the tip of it into the ground. His eyes glowed for a moment as countless aura swords suddenly spawned around them in a quickly rotating shield of blades. His blade then sunk further into the ground as he channeled his aura into the air above Zerath.

"I don't think he's just going to stand still…" Xera said.

Zerath only scoffed, "This'll be good. What's he going to do?" He held his blade out at his side and remained in place, watching as Dante's aura pulsed outward and around him.

What he didn't notice was a massive culmination of Dante's aura directly above his head in the form of a colossal aura blade. It shined brilliantly in the air as it rotated slowly and built itself upward. Solidifying further and further as it glowed brighter and brighter, becoming more physical and dense by the second.

Its shining tip pointed downward as it suspended itself in the air.

Xera got the feeling that if this thing dropped, it'd mean destruction for their surroundings. So, he added a swirling inferno to the mix, manipulating the flames to double up their shield as he focused on forming them into a domelike protective barrier.

Zerath then looked up and chuckled, "A meaningless display of power… how thoughtless."

He didn't so much as move when the sword in the sky fell. The tip of its blade split the very air it tore through as the heavy cluster of super-densified aura plummeted from its suspended perch in the atmosphere.

Its terminal velocity was reached in an instant, and even then, it blew past the limits of its own weight and plummeted even faster. Its speed only increasing.

Zerath welcomed it with open arms.

The sword's tip struck Zerath's head just as his entire body became engulfed in an encasement of ice. The blinding light that followed could only be described as a supernova of white and black imploding in on itself before rupturing.

The very battlefield cracked and quaked, falling in on itself as the sword's sheer density crushed the structure of the ground beneath it in a single moment. A crater soon sunk into the land as the sword surged and shattered, releasing an explosive wave of white aura outlined in black in all directions. The ring of energy blew all debris outward and tore into the very ground that spanned around it, rupturing that as well as it ripped onward and roared in a devastating aftershock of blazing aura.

Blades then rained from the sky. Sword after sword plunged into the ground, scattering like a blanket of needles covering every foot of ice that spanned outward from around the impact zone. Xera's wavering fire shield was pierced in numerous places, though Dante's own shield of aura swords redirected the falling blades to pierce the ground at their sides instead.

After a few moments, the hail of weaponry came to a slow stop… and the two dropped their defenses.

"I doubt that was enough to kill him." Xera said as his flames dispersed.

"I don't think so either…" Dante agreed.

Before them, Zerath swept his blade to the side as he stood at the center of the carnage. Countless aura swords littered the ground around him as he smiled at the deepest point of the crater.

His coat was scorched and trails of smoke flickered off his clothing, but otherwise, he was completely unscathed.

"A cute party trick," Zerath said, looking up into the sky, "Unfortunately, you always encounter that one person who's already seen it before."

Dante drew an aura blade from the ground as he took a new stance, "I expected no less from a dark entity of your level."

Xera then drew his own white sword outlined in black out of the ground, temporarily borrowing one of Dante's weapons as he took his own stance. He didn't need a moment to attune himself to the weight and feel of the sword, his body would do that on its own.

"My level?" Zerath couldn't help but laugh at that, "Oh… you have no idea what I'm capable of." The demon then entered his own stance, brandishing his sword in front of him before drawing it back and bringing it past his left side, pointing it slightly back, "I think it's time I show you why I'm stronger than you in every way."

Xera accelerated his awareness as Dante's gaze narrowed, the two sharpening their attention. _He was holding back._

Zerath's smirk grew, "Are you ready?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

An instant hadn't even gone by yet… when he entered Dante's guard. A slash had already torn through his entire chest before a trigger was pulled, and the claymore was surged even deeper into his flesh as it ripped itself free. Xera's wing lifted out of harm's way as he raised his own sword to block, only for Zerath's blade to phase through it.

They'd forgotten…

One of Zerath's greatest weapons… was the ability to negate the effects of aura.

Xera's eyes widened as Dante's blood suspended itself in the air, trailing from the bone-deep wound that opened his chest. Millimeters away, he watched as Zerath's blade nearly made contact with his own chest.

There was no escaping this one.

He didn't have indestructible bones.

The blade was too large to hope for just a flesh wound either.

He was going to die in less than a fraction of a second…

Only… if the sword made contact.

The entire world suddenly froze. The suspended blood remained in the air, unmoving as Xera and Dante stumbled backward. Dante coughed up blood, but his wounds healed rapidly as he pushed himself to his feet.

"D-damn, just what was with that speed?" Dante asked, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth.

"Something we can only try to counter if we knew when it was going to happen. I don't think it was speed, though…" Xera said, shakily standing back up as well as he stared in mild awe at the motionless Zerath. And the rest of the world, in suspended animation, "I think he managed to find a way to freeze the world around him. Or at least slow it… to the point where he moved faster than time moved forward."

"That is exactly right." A new, younger voice spoke up from behind them. And the two teens turned to see the girl from the infirmary room, cloaked in white and face still shrouded beneath her hood, "Your adversary has capabilities that far surpass many of your past encounters." Her gaze then turned to Dante, "He is no longer what he once was. He is gaining in power."

"Wait…" Dante suddenly said, "He's still gaining in power? That means…" He paused as he looked back to the suspended Zerath, "What was that then?"

"That is what would happen, should you fail to stop Soul-Slasher's ascension." The girl explained.

"If we don't stop him now… then he'll only continue to increase in power," Xera said, "Won't he…?"

"Yes. This is simply a simulation of what I sensed from him while trying to contain him. This version of Zerath would be what would happen should he be merged with Soul-Slasher and wake up in the infirmary room we still reside in." The girl continued.

"So… this was just a simulation of his earliest stages of consciousness." Dante cut in, "He'll only become even more unstoppable if we let him escape."

"That is correct." The girl responded.

"That means… even if we flush him out of Zerath's body and mind, we'll still have to hunt him down and kill him before he gets a chance to manifest his power." Xera concluded.

"Precisely." The girl said with a small nod of the head, "There is simply no way around it."

"Well, Xera." Dante slammed his hands together as he rolled his shoulders, "I guess you'll get to see what it's like to hunt down a dark entity. After all, it's only right that you help me take it down."

"Fair enough, I guess. But still… this was just a simulation of his earliest stages… how are we going to fight him if he enters his later power stages?" Xera wondered.

What would happen… if they couldn't kill him as soon as possible?

"We'll find a way." Dante said reassuringly, "There's always a way."

"I can agree with that statement." The girl added.

"…so you say." Xera let out a drawn out breath, running a hand through his hair as he let all of this sink in, "Let's just… get out of here then. I think it's time we take on the real thing."

"I will take us back into reality momentarily. Firstly, I do need to warn the two of you about a pressing matter." The girl prompted, earning a quick nod from the two teens, "What you experienced in here was only what I was able to gather through my senses of his power. It was in no way a fully accurate projection of what he may have actually been capable of."

"Oh, great. So this was only a part of what he's supposed to become." Dante said, before shrugging his shoulders, "Oh well. Nothing changes. Let's go in there, beat the bad guy, and save Xera's brother. We'll do our best."

"There's no way around it." Xera reiterated the girl's words from earlier, "We have to try. That's all that matters. We've at least been exposed to some of his potential abilities… we'll be ready for next time."

The girl's lips curled into a small, almost unnoticeable smile, yet her face remained hidden and obscured, "Then let us begin the real test."

The icy graveyard around them melted and warped away as Xera and Dante felt their consciousness leave the current space they inhabited, ending in a weightless suspension that soon dropped them back into the seats their physical bodies rested on.

Time to take on the real deal… Only, it'll be so much more different than either of them could've ever known.

* * *

**Information, information, information.**

**For all you rwby-theorists out there, this one is my own. As far as I know. It scientifically links a couple things that have been on my mind from day one. And, hopefully, you'll get to see it develop through my story.**

**It's entirely possible, too, with how I've linked it to canon lore and canon plot.**

**Those statistics at the start have no backing either. They're just my own assumptions about the population of the Kingdom of Vale. I'm aware of how small that population actually is in terms of a city populous.**

**Keep in mind, this is a world inhabited by Grimm that are supposed to be dangerous and a force to be reckoned with. So, the smaller numbers make sense.**

**You don't have to take my word for it. You don't have to take my word for anything, actually. Don't trust a random author's word, even if they sound like they know what they're talking about XD.**

**Oh well.**

**Also, I believe it's time that you were reacquainted with the small Kitsune from Krono Facility. I'm sure all of you, with the exception of a few, actually remember her being a thing.**

**Yeah, she exists. I just suck with plot progression. So you likely forgot about her.**

**I'm working on that issue.**

**And as for you perverts with avid imaginations… Andy will also be doing a run-through of what happens here in his own story. So, you may or may not get a look at what 'actually' happened in that wet dream that Dante accidentally opened.**

**You'll just have to wait and see if he decides to show you what took place behind closed doors.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	67. Aether in a Veil of Darkness

**Prepare yourselves, huntsmen. It's time things took a turn for the dark. Souls will be tested in the realm you are about to witness. Will it be fun? Maybe. Will it be gruesome? Probably. Will there be cake?! YES!**

**Well… not really. But if I said no… would you turn away? How about some cookies?**

**Or, you know what, how about a nice fluffy kitsune? XD**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 67: Aether in a Veil of Darkness

**Third Person**

It only took another few minutes before Inuba began to see the starting signs of the small girl in front of her waking up. Her crimson eyes watched as the other girl's fluffy ears fluttered atop her head, twitching slightly before her face scrunched up cutely.

She knew the kitsune was around Xera's age, maybe a year younger, but her small and lithe form gave her an air of adorableness that Inuba just couldn't ignore.

This effect was only enhanced further when the young girl curled her bunched tails up a little more, legs wrapped into its fluffiness beneath the covers as she let out a slow silent breath.

It was silent. Inuba had noticed it earlier, even with her enhanced hearing. She couldn't make out any vocal noises coming from the girl before her.

_That explains the damage to her throat I sensed. _Inuba's tail swished quietly behind her as she came to a realization, _I had assumed it was the smoke she inhaled… but it is more likely that the injury was not something that occurred recently. Rather, something much earlier than that. Something much more permanent._

Inuba waited in baited silence, watching quietly as the girl's face scrunched up a little more. Pale fingers clutched into the sheets for a moment, before Inuba watched the girl press her palm into the bed and push herself into a sitting position.

Bleary eyes softly lidded open, blinking a few times before shying away from the nearest light source. Bright reflective golden-orange irises shining and open, gazing at the tails coiled beneath her legs.

It wasn't long before those glowing eyes of sunset orbs looked up to meet Inuba's. The girl gazed at her in confusion, silent shyness, and disbelief.

They were all such subtle displays of emotion. Inuba nearly missed the slight details of her face scrunching up, almost looking like an emotionless soft stare. But she noticed the tiniest of motions, and that was enough to read into the feelings rushing through the girl before her.

"How do you feel?" Inuba asked softly, hands clasped in her lap as she watched the girl before her sit back onto her heels.

Confliction crossed the younger girl's face for a moment, fox ears folding back atop her head. More confusion passed over her eyes.

"You are in safe hands here," Inuba said, remaining still for the sake of not startling the girl, "The people here all want to help you, nothing else."

With those words now in the air, two white fox ears perked up slightly before the girl started looking around. She took in her surroundings and layout of the room, noticed the white walls and the lone window, the few chairs that rested at the edges of the floor, before finally clutching at the blanket bundled around her knees and pulling it over her legs and tails.

_Her voice box… _Inuba suddenly realized the girl's inability to speak and reached out slightly before bringing up both her hand and a glowing white square. When Inuba tapped the square, it expanded into a large, white holographic rectangle. Quick fingers tapped on the holographic screen in order to open up a notetaking application, which she soon spun the screen around to the younger kitsune as another screen appeared in front of Inuba.

She didn't touch it right away. The girl just stared at it, a small twinge of fear running through her ears and a look of distrust crossing her features.

"It is all right, this is just my Holographic scroll. It should help you communicate. There is no reason to feel afraid, I have no intention of hurting you." Inuba said, pushing the screen further out towards the girl as she gave her a kind smile.

A small nod dipped the girl's chin, finally willing to reach out. Her pale hand was a stark contrast against the black suit she wore, but she cautiously accepted the holographic screen and pulled it back. Her eyes stared down at it for a few seconds, mild confusion swirling around in her gaze.

She… recognized the characters. The small sha- letters, actually. Their meaning and purpose just… came to her. But, she couldn't explain why or how that was. Just a moment ago, she didn't know what she was looking at.

She… didn't even know her own name.

Delicate fingers tapped slowly along the holographic keyboard, wording together something that Inuba couldn't see until the words appeared on her separate screen.

'_Where am I? Who are you?'_

Inuba read out the question and let out a quiet sigh, glad that she wasn't taking her current situation in a state of panic or fear.

"You are currently in the infirmary wing of Beacon Academy. My name is Inuba Kitsukami and I am here to help you." Inuba responded, giving the girl yet another small smile, "Can you give me your name?"

The girl looked down, her cheeks dusting slightly in a red hue as she typed out an embarrassed, _'I don't know…'_

Inuba gave a small sad smile before reaching forward and petting the girl's head, a strange urge to do so coming over her, "You will remember in time. Memories are a tricky concept to understand, so do not feel embarrassed about not being able to remember." The older fox-yōkai pulled her hand back before giving the small girl another soft gaze, "How much do you remember?"

Her gaze only became more downcast.

'_That's…' _The girl's eyes fell as she gave Inuba a meek, almost helpless, expression, _'That's a hard question to answer. I… I don't remember… anything.'_

Inuba's eyes widened for a moment, concluding something that only caused her to want to help the small girl even more so than she already did. _The girl's mind is a blank slate. She… she must feel so lost and helpless right now…_

"You may not be able to recall very much right now. But, you managed to recognize how to write on my screen," Inuba pointed out, eyes carefully regarding the kitsune in front of her now as she spoke, "That means your memories have only been blocked… not erased. You will remember. It just might take a little time."

'_How much time?' _The girl asked, unsure of how to react or what to feel.

"It is hard to say," Inuba admitted, standing up now as she sat on the edge of the girl's bed. The action caused the small girl's gaze to snap up to her and shy slightly away, "But gaining one's memories back is a fickle matter. The safest way would be for you to let your memories return to you, rather than try and remember them yourself. That might only bring you pain."

'_Pain?'_

Inuba nodded solemnly before brushing that look away with a smile. The loss and regaining of memories weren't foreign concepts to her. In fact, Dante's experience is proof of that, "It will come back to you. Some objects and moments might jog a few memories from time to time, but you just need to be patient with something like this."

The girl nodded slowly, fingers loosely grasping at the screen before her hands as her mind grasped at something that just felt so out of reach… so far away…

Her name. It was there, she could feel it, almost see it… It was nearly in her reach. It felt so natural, so alive, if she could… if she could just…

Her eyes grew bleary as her vision dulled.

If she could… could just reach out…

Darkness swept into her vision as a dull ache throbbed in her head. The girl collapsed forward, the screen disappearing as Inuba reached out and caught her. She rested the small kitsune down softly atop her own fox tail as she stroked the girl's long frost white hair.

White flames danced around her fingertips as she did so, sending soothing warmth through the girl as she tried to heal away the pain.

"Just rest," Inuba spoke quietly, "You have all the time in the world to remember. Pushing yourself can only get you so far before your mind starts pushing back."

Inuba laid the girl to rest, tucking her into the bed once again before softly climbing off of it herself. The girl was going to be out for the rest of the day, so she decided to let her sleep. The small kitsune needed it.

With a silent step, Inuba slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

"Alright, so is this going to be more or less the same process?" Xera asked, eyeing the still unknown girl in the cloak then glancing to Zerath in his bed. Black ice crunched and crystallized beneath his feet, frost biting at the soles of his shoes as he brought his chair over.

"This one's going to be a bit different," Dante commented, bringing his own chair over and situating it next to Xera's.

"That is correct." The girl spoke, "I suspect there will be some resistance upon entering this one's mind. You must prepare yourselves for quite a forceful entry, and on top of that, he will know the moment you enter his mind."

"Well, that's comforting," Xera said, letting out a short sigh as he took a seat.

"Destiny," the girl then said, ushering the girl over.

Destiny's eyes widened for a moment as if asking silently whether or not she was actually being addressed, "Am I needed?"

"Yes, we will need you as well as Inuba," she explained, before glancing toward the door, "Is she not here?"

"She went to check on something." Destiny said, making her way over.

"She'll be back soon. She's close." Dante commented, sitting down in his own chair after glancing toward the door himself. He could feel her presence, she wasn't that far off.

Not another minute went by before Inuba stepped through the icy door and entered the chilling room.

"I am sorry for my tardiness. Our guest had woken up recently, I was tending to her." She apologized with a bow.

"She's awake?" Xera asked.

"Not anymore," Inuba replied, moving into the room now and approaching the rest, "She is currently resting once more."

"I must ask for you to save your explanations for later. For now, Inuba, Destiny, please take hold of my hand." The girl requested, reaching a pale hand out of her cloak as she stood at Zerath's side.

"Does the connection need to be physical?" Destiny asked, doing as she was told and laying her hand atop the younger girl's. Inuba did the same, only from beneath.

"Physical is always stronger than a mental connection. It creates a bond with substance and less disruption," the girl explained, "For this to work, we must make sure that the connection does not falter. Or we run the risk of losing all tethers to their minds and trapping them inside."

"That… wouldn't be good," Xera spoke up.

"Very bad, actually. Something like that happened to me once a long, long time ago. Needless to say, it was a real pain to break out on my own." Dante added.

"Great." The phoenix returned before his dark green eyes cast a serious gaze back to the girls standing before them.

"Inuba, Destiny, please rest your hands against the foreheads of Dante and Xera. And whatever you do, never let go of either point of contact. No matter what you feel." The girl continued, glancing back to the four.

With two nods, the girls did as they were told. Inuba took Dante's side while Destiny tended to Xera's. Before anyone could see the light tinges of red in either of the two guys' faces, the girl reached forward with her free hand and rested it against Zerath's cold forehead.

A spark of white emitted from her hand before traveling through the body and souls of Inuba and Destiny, before running down their arms in a glimmer of fading white starlight.

That was the last thing Xera saw before the world went dark.

* * *

Ash.

Thick, blackened dirt crushed beneath their feet, scattering around them as each heavy step dispersed a small amount of the fleeting ground. Hard stone, scratched and jagged, spanned sharply beneath the flat reaches of scorched dust.

The sky plumed in a swirling vortex of agonizing red hues. A smoldering crimson sun burned above them, its center nothing more than a wavering black abyss. The celestial star above was nothing more than a shining ring of red, flickering and blazing in the reaches of the realm the two descended into.

A crying light pulsed in the red sun, brimming around it in a bright haze before dipping and brightening a line of wavering red flame that tethered the sun to the ground in the distance. The shining chain merged with the ring of the red sun's outer most fire.

Xera's eyes roamed over the sea of ash and stone, shining in the reflection of the encroaching red sky as they approached a door frame in the distance.

"This place… this was supposed to be the white room," Xera brushed a pile of ash to the side, letting the crumbling layers seep into the crevices of the torn stones below, "The first place I saw in your mind."

"That white room is supposed to act as an entrance," Dante replied, stepping forward through the layers of ash and despair.

It reeked of death. A vile stench lingered in the air, thick with soot and smoke… and blood.

"This is only the beginning," Xera realized, turning his gaze to the sky before moving forward as well.

The two approached a door of shattered wood. Its frame was blackened and scratched, long jagged gashes ran through it rendering it in broken shards of what was once a solid door frame. A black corruption seemed to have seeped into the wood, rotting it to the core in a brittle state of fragile fragments.

Its lock lay broken. Its frame… shattered. The door lay in shambles, yet it still stood. It balanced in the throes of the weak ground. As if a subtle breeze could run it down in a single sweep.

"It's open," Dante spoke, pushing a hand forward and lightly tapped the battered door.

The entry creaked open with a slow drawl, swiveling inward on its own as it fell further open. Not stopping until it hit the wall of a hallway in ruins.

Xera shared a glance with Dante before making his way inside, the door closing behind them after Dante followed.

"The Hall of Memories…" Dante muttered.

Xera brushed a hand along a collapsed wall, "…it lies in pieces."

Memories, Access Points, Dream Reels… it was all crumbling away. Doors lay cracked and open, full pieces missing in shattered fragments on the floor. Some doors weren't even standing anymore, lying flat and broken across the ash ridden hallway floor before them.

The frames to each Access Point were broken and caving in, collapsing into ash in the same manner each door seemed to be partially shattered into fragmented structures.

Looking up, the two saw the ceiling was completely gone. The walls around them spanned in sharp sputtering spikes and scorched dips and rises. As if the upper half of the entire corridor was ripped from its reality.

The red sky smoldered in the air, bathing the running hallway of shattered doors in a glow of crimson and scarlet.

"It's as if something tore through here, clawing into each of Zerath's memories and… devouring them." Xera spoke lowly, steps as careful and quiet as the dead of night as he walked onward.

Dante doing the same.

"That's probably what happened," Dante said, "Soul-Slasher is an entity of darkness. He grows stronger as his presence overtakes the soul it resides with."

"Zerath's memories and dreams," Xera realized, eyes grazing past the destruction at his sides, "The more he loses… the more he forgets himself. His past… it's being erased."

"It might be reversible, though. It might not all be gone."

"How do you know?" Xera asked, "Zerath's human. He's not like you, his memories aren't eternal."

"There still might be a way." Dante further pushed, eyes straying from the doors and meeting Xera's, "Even though he's human, he's lasted far longer than any average soul or human could possibly hope to sustain. His memories might still be clinging to him. For a human, that's actually quite impressive."

Xera remained silent, ash sweeping beneath his feet as he walked through it.

A cold groaning wind swept through the open hallway, brushing waves through the surface of the ash as it sent shudders through the creaking doors all around them.

An unnatural wind, one that held a presence of death in its grasp; ghastly, soft whispers moving through the air.

When the two slowed their pace, the gust of air finally stopped and let the ash settle beneath their feet. What followed the groaning noise, though… was the guttural dripping growl of a creature drenched in the stench of blood.

The two took a defensive step back as this creature seemed to claw its way out of the ash a few feet in front of them, blackened and dry skin slipping out of the ground as the ash sifted over its matted fur.

"A beowolf?" Xera asked.

"No," Dante said, taking a step forward and summoning a blade of pure aura, "A Dark Entity. This thing's a Lykinak."

Black blood dripped form the creatures gnawing maw, teeth biting into the flesh of its lips. Tendons of stretched skin connected the very corner of its mouth, leaving openings and holes for its guttural breath to seep out of.

Its form took the shape of what a lycanthrope might look like, a humanoid carnivorous wolf, only if it were starved for years and dipped in a vat of acidic blood. It left the flesh and fur on its body thin and stretched, torn and opened in several areas revealing black gunk and bone within.

The lykinak's stature was crooked and hunched. As if half its body weighed more than the other. Its long arms were scrawny and bony, knuckles scraping into the ash below as its head snapped and cocked. Glowing red orbs took residence as its eyes, shining in a wide open gaze as it stared hungrily at the two teens before it.

"These creatures are nasty, so watch yourself," Dante informed, brandishing his blade and lowering into an offensive stance.

"As much as I'm grateful for the warning," Xera flexed his hands as flames burst forth from his palms, burning brightly in melting orbs of light between his fingers, "It basically tells me nothing of what this thing can do."

The lykinak let out a distorted cackle as it stumbled forward, taking sudden and rapid steps as it staggered and brushed against the wall, its eyes remaining fixed on the two before it.

"I have faith that you'll figure it out," Dante replied, his sword rising for a moment before he leaned forward and entered a dash.

Xera acted as well, hurling a blazing ball of flame that expanded into a burning vortex of swirling fire. It crashed into the creature, melting around its form in scorching force just before Dante swept by and cleaved through the creature's side.

His blade severed the lykinak's torso from its legs. Its upper body fell in a scrawny heap to the ground, before its claws sunk into the stones beneath the ash and crawled at an alarmingly fast speed.

It dragged itself in a blur of speeding black, slamming into the opposite wall and digging its claws further into it. It then made a biting leap for Dante, only for another impact of fire to send it hurtling down the hallway in a smoking heap of charred skin.

"Damn, I guess I should've aimed for the heart." Dante lashed out at his side, whipping the blood of his blade into the ground as Xera stepped up to his other side.

"Is that the only way to kill it?" Xera asked, his gaze watching the creature growl and hack up blood. But its eyes returned to them a moment later, dusty and cracked claws scraping the ground as it began crawling back to them.

"More or less. You can always just obliterate its entire body, but that takes too long." Dante stated.

"Too long, huh?" Xera questioned, his flames growing brighter as he stepped forward, "Mind if I test that theory?"

"Be my guest," Dante replied as he gestured the tip of his blade at the creature.

The smoldering orb of pure fire in Xera's right hand glowed brighter, surging in molten flame before he slammed his other catalyst ball of flame into it. His two hands flexed around the collision of light, the two orbs merging as a brilliant radiance suddenly tore through and around his physical being.

Xera then dropped his left hand to his side as he walked forward, subtly flaming eyes transitioning to the creature clawing through the ash toward him in a disgusting state of torn sinew and scorched flesh.

The orb then lifted as he raised his right arm, fingers flexing and curling as the ball dripped in melting fire. His pale hand then crushed the brightly glowing catalyst for his flame, curling into a fist just as the creature dug its claws into the ground and leaped forward.

A simple dodge was all that was needed.

Xera slammed his foot into the ground as he leaned to his left, dipping out of the lethal swipe of a bloodied claw as he slammed his fist forward, catching the beast in the center of its chest.

A culmination of fire swirled around Xera's arm as the lykiak's ribs were melted through, fist stopping its leap in its tracks. Xera then followed through, putting his entire arm and upper body into the swing and tearing his clenched fist forward.

The resulting inferno tore through the hallway in a sudden burst of light and scolding wind.

Bright orange now overwhelmed the sea of red as a cone of swirling flame all but exploded, channeling forward in a focused torrent of energy as Xera engulfed the beast in an intense ray of heat and burning flame.

The roaring surge of fire then shot down the hallway in front of him, pushing through the ashen remains below before dissipating entirely.

Leaving nothing but lingering traces of light in its wake.

"That quick enough for you?" Xera asked, shaking his simmering fist out before summoning in new catalyzing orbs for his affinity. It made the transition between generation and manipulation of fire much faster and practically seamless.

He didn't need to create new fire each time. He just had to pour his aura into the orbs in his palms to manifest it there, enhancing and amplifying those flames to exude the fire he would've taken an extra moment to generate.

Dante stepped past the teen and pat his shoulder along the way, "I've done faster. You took your time with the windup just to show off."

Xera couldn't help but grin a little, "Hey, I just wanted to make sure it'd be dead."

"Well, it's dead alright," Dante smirked over his shoulder as the two kept moving forward.

After a few minutes, the two came across a door that still stood. Its wood was dull, its frame was cracked, and its handle was crushed and rusted. But… it remained closed.

"This is the only one…" Xera said, his voice quiet. He reached out and pressed his fingertips against the door.

"It's still locked," Dante added, reaching out and twisting the handle. The rusted metal only budging slightly in his grasp, but remaining unturned, "I don't know why. But this seems to be the only door that Soul-Slasher couldn't get into."

Xera soon pressed his ear to the door, closing his eyes as he let his senses narrow in on his hearing. It was faint, almost impossible to pick up… but it was something he couldn't miss. Something too hard… not to hear.

It was the sound of a baby crying. Muffled by thick wood and sullen ash, scorched wall and thick air, it was there.

And he heard it.

"I think I know why." Xera reached down and took a hold of the handle, turning it with no resistance. The door unlocked, allowing Xera to push forward and open it into a fading glow of diminishing white light.

The pale light dwindled away in streaks of bleary color as the streets of Vale rendered in. The yellow sun was low, casting its gaze down into the busy sidewalks of Vale's market district. Xera walked in, followed by Dante, as the door shut and locked behind them.

People phased through them, going about their business as they would've on this day of Zerath's past.

The crying got louder.

A baby's shrill cry came muffled and piercing at the same time, echoing out of a dark alleyway as the people of Vale strolled by it. No one so much as glanced within, just going about their day with smiles on their faces and varying futures ahead of them.

The baby's cry softened, and then got a little louder. A few people acknowledged it now, but none made a move to investigate it.

Whether it was fear or lack of care, it was enough to leave the child to cry in the darkness of the stone alley.

"This way," Xera said, moving through the people before him, eyes fixed on the shadows of the opening across the street.

Dante followed close by, letting the people pass through him as well as they made their way into the dark entrance of the alleyway. The two made their way further in, passing a couple pieces of debris and scattered broken crates, before walking up to a cluster of cloth and boxes.

Nestled in one of those boxes was a small child, an infant. Wrapped in a white blanket, it lied there… eyes wide and bloodshot. Its sky blue irises stared aimlessly, still drying from the tears that must have stung them.

It cried out again, a baser hope lying in its soul in hopes that its mother might come back.

She never will.

"Is that…?" Dante asked.

"Yeah," Xera nodded, recognizing the eyes immediately, "I just… never was around when Leona found him."

"You weren't born yet?"

"No, he's a year or two older than me. I never knew for sure, though, since his birthday was never a certain date." Xera's eyes then shifted to a shadow that stopped at the opening to the alley.

The silhouette of a woman.

His cries got a little louder, undoubtedly sensing the presence of someone else. And Xera watched as the young woman looked off to the side, sifting her eyes through her surroundings and trying to pick out anyone who might be the parents of the child she heard.

Nothing.

The woman made her way inside, the light falling from her pale skin as she strolled through the shadows cast from above. A grocery bag lay clutched in her grasp, though, she abandoned it at one of the walls as she approached the noise carefully.

Xera's breath wracked against his lungs, breaking into segments as he took a step back. Letting the woman pass him.

Long black hair drifted slightly behind her in the stilled silence of the alley. Nestled atop the woman's head rested a black bullhide leather cowboy hat, a bit of wear was easily depicted in the material. As if it's been worn for years.

She wore an open brown leather jacket, unclasped and revealing a white shirt beneath it. A pair of worn pale dark-gray jeans adorned her legs before leading into black combat boots to complete her ensemble.

"So, that's her…" Dante trailed off, watching as the woman looked into the disarray of boxes and found the child.

Xera remained quiet, ignoring Dante for now as the young woman pushed a lock of black hair behind her ear and lowered down onto her knees.

"Are you alone, little one?" The woman asked, voice light and soothing. Her eyes gleamed with a sky blue, but even then Xera wasn't sure what color they were. They kept shifting.

The child's little voice hitched and his crying toned down completely, eyes opening again to gaze up into two shining blue irises. Its feet kicked as it pulled and grasped at its blanket, gnawing at the cloth with his small mouth as he, for a moment, smiled.

The woman chuckled softly, reaching her hands down and lifting the little baby up onto its feet, "Are you hungry? You must've been crying here for quite a while." She brushed his wet cheek with her thumb and supported his weight.

A resounding giggle left the baby's lips as it reached out and pressed its fingers against the woman's cheeks.

"Hmm," The woman's eyes glistened for a moment, before flashing a noticeable shade of pink and gold, "I don't suppose you'd mind me taking you home?"

In a way… the baby responded with another laugh and a wide toothless smile.

She stood, holding the child caringly in her arms now, and made her way out of the alley. Grocery bag having been picked up on her way back into the streets of Vale. And, for a moment, she looked back into the alleyway of shadows.

Zerath was left here. Abandoned.

The fading light of the golden sun danced off her skin, reflecting through her eyes beneath the shadow of her hat… before she disappeared.

She was gone.

"Leona Stark," Dante paused, glancing down the corridor of the two buildings, "…right?"

Xera nodded numbly, eyes refusing to look away from the light entering the entry to the alley. Where the woman once stood.

Where the memory of Leona once stood.

Dante didn't press the matter further, "Well, there's significance about this memory that we don't know about yet. It remained locked for a reason."

"…it was the first time Zerath smiled." Xera said, his voice almost failing him, "It was the first moment he experienced happiness and… it was the first time he saw our mother."

_So, that really was her…_ Dante concluded, turning to look at his friend, "The reason that this memory out of all of them remained intact…"

"This was the moment when Zerath's life took a turn for the better. This was the moment he became who he will eventually be. This is his last memory… of his true self. The starting point," Xera blinked, pausing before turning his gaze downward, "Of it all, of his life. If he loses this precious memory fragment… he'll lose everything he once held dear."

"This is the last piece of his soul that still remains whole," Dante finished. It explained why the Access Point was locked, why it refused to open for anyone other than Xera… and why this memory seemed so important.

A white light suddenly glowed at their side, shining like an ethereal crystal against the alleyway walls from the box Zerath was found in. The two turned to look toward the pale rays of light, only to watch it fade and disappear back into the crate.

Xera and Dante stepped over and peered inside, only to stare in mild confusion at what now lied within its containing walls.

A shimmering white longsword rested inside the box. Its pommel and hilt were polished silver, shining like ivory in the setting sun. The blade had a handle wrapped in black cloth, tightly wound around a thin frame.

The pommel resembled that of a crescent moon, carved thick and smoothly angular. Glowing white characters of text were engraved into its inner depressions. The hilt of the sword was an elegantly curved set of detailed wings, arcing in unfurled states to have their ends curving forward toward the tip of the blade.

Lastly, was the blade itself. It was long, thin, almost simple in shape, yet elegantly pristine and sharp. A depression ran down its center, engraved with an expanse of ancient characters that not even Dante could recognize with a single glance.

The material of the blade seemed to reflect the light around them, appearing white in both color and glow. It glistened, despite being in the shadow of the high walls around them.

Xera reached in and withdrew the sword, a streak of white light trailing softly in its wake as it hummed and lightly vibrated with energy in his grasp.

"The last sliver of Zerath's fading soul." He uttered, turning the longsword in his hands as a name was pushed into his mind. The power suddenly felt familiar, it felt warm, inviting, and… accepting. He felt it run through his arm and into his heart, rushing through the rest of his body from there.

He knew its name.

"Aether."

"You can read that?"

"No, I just… knew its name." Xera admitted, letting the sword fall softly to his side as he held it firmly in his grasp.

"Hmm, things like that tend to happen." Dante shrugged his shoulders, before making his way back toward the door that led them in here.

Xera followed suit, walking through the people in the streets once more before opening the Access Point and re-entering the ashen halls of the Hall of Memories… only…

It wasn't the Hall of Memories anymore.

Two sets of shoes landed on hard ground, ice crushing beneath their feet as they stepped through the frame of the door. The Access Point slammed shut behind them, then crumbled into ash, leaving them in the middle of what seemed like the base of an icy realm.

"That door's been locked ever since I set foot in here five years ago."

A voice came from above, drifting down from the peak of some sort of mountainous structure before them. An icy pathway led forward and up, entering into a dark cavern that the two couldn't see into. All around them raised countless black pillars and spikes of ice, crashing out of the ground in a wide enclosing half circle that left them no room to turn back.

"Only a bond bound by blood or something just as strong could've opened that door. And yet, here you are. Neither of you is his kin, yet you've entered into my realm and accessed the one place I couldn't reach." The voice continued. It was deep, grating almost. It rasped at the world around them and seemed to sharpen the edges of the spanning icy domain.

Yet, it carried a condescending coolness to it, like it was being spoken by a man of experience, of integrity, of confidence, and of knowledge.

Dark, dreadful knowledge.

"We're here to take back what isn't yours to begin with!" Dante called out, "You have two options as of now! Stay in here and hide until we find you and kill you, or you leave willingly! No, forget what I just said… You've put my friend here and his brother through a lot of pain and misery! Come out so we can kill you!"

The voice tsked and lowly laughed, a deep resounding chuckle flooding coldly through the area before it came to a stop, "What's not mine? This is my realm now. I exist here, and nowhere else. I've grown… attached to this soul. Its purposes suit my needs."

"His body doesn't belong to you! And there are plenty of other ways for scum like you to get your original bodies back!" Dante called out.

Again, the voice chuckled and rumbled the area, "Fool, you're naïve. This soul… is the _only_ one who possesses the secret I stumbled across so long ago. It seems fate has given me a new weapon to play with. I will not be giving that weapon up to the likes of you."

"Then we'll stop you." Xera spoke up, "We'll end you before you get too far."

"Too far? Too far… you say. Oooh, how hopeless you've grown." The voice drawled in a condescending arrogance, "You have no idea just how powerful I've become. How powerful I _will_ become."

"How about we put that to the test?" Dante said, summoning in a solid longsword of his own aura. It shined in white outlined in black, pulsing with energy like glass containing a glowing beam of light, "Let's see just how strong you really are!"

The entity chuckled, ice crumbling all around them before the icy spines receded back into the ground slightly, "If you make it past the minions I've created and push your way to me… then I shall give you a fight. But if you fall prey to my creatures of darkness, then you truly were never a threat worthy of my attention."

"We'll see about that," Xera muttered, brandishing his gleaming Aether in front of him, a bright ruby glow shined across its surface from the red sun above. The vast structure in front of them shook as the entity laughed. A thunderous cry of shrill guttural screeches tore out of the cavern's entrance before them, countless creatures roaring from within.

"He seems like he's at least slightly honorable," Dante commented, "Well, at the moment he does. Not sure what he'll do once we get up there."

"Probably try to kill us. He knows we're vulnerable in here." Xera paused, "Well, I am at least. You're just cheating with your immortality."

Dante just shrugged, "What can I say. I'm blessed? Or, cursed maybe?"

"It's a blessing and curse. But one that wouldn't be such a bad thing to possess at times." Xera said, turning his sword in his hand and taking a step forward, "Interested in slaying the king of this realm?"

Dante only smiled and walked forward alongside the phoenix, "Always."

* * *

**Woo! I get to start the mayhem next time, now that'll be fun. I hope I've built the atmosphere well for you people. It's supposed to be rather dark and dreary.**

**Haha, how many of you caught the choice of wording I used in the above A/N? Admit it, it was pretty slick. I will admit, I did take some inspiration from Dark Souls III. Love that game.**

**Oh, and hey, you just saw what Leona actually looked like! Nice, now that's something to take note of. Don't you think? I find Xera's mother to be a rather nice enigma, with a warming personality and a lethal edge.**

**Not sure if she's dead or alive, though. It can go either way.**

**andy2396: He's nearly made me go brain dead thinking about it…**

**Xera: Hey, it seriously could go either way. It's hilariously fun to make people think like that XD**

**andy: Killing me is fun now? I'm not Dante you know.**

**Xera: Shhh... it's okay. Besides, this is only the beginning... You have no idea what kind of cards I still have up my sleeve.**

**andy: He's right about that. I don't. Well, I have to settle with what we're working on now. Are you just as excited as I am about what'll happen next?! I know I am!**

**Xera: Hehe... nobody has a clue... Well, except maybe Sky. We talk a lot to flesh out my ideas. What comes next will be two parts exciting and one part awesome! And that sword that I introduced? Oh, that'll be a sight to see in action.**

**andy: Certainly a beauty... Can't wait to see it work its magic! *wink wink***

**Xera: It's supposed to be beautiful. It's as alluring as it is deadly. Now, lemme just... *walks out of frame to push a rather large box into view***

**andy: Oh, what's this?**

**Xera: A distraction. *opens the box and steps back, allowing the walls of it to collapse to the ground to reveal a sleeping Inuba. Cuddled into her side is the young kitsune from earlier as well, both slumbering softly and wrapped in their own tails***

**andy: *LE GASP* WHAT FORM OF SORCERY IS THIS?! It's... It's..! It's too much cuteness in one place!**

**Xera: It's an adorable trap. I also can't wait to reveal my kitsune's name, that'll be a nice little thing to look forward to. It's rather special, as all my names tend to be.**

**andy: No joke, Xera's like God when it comes to awesome names. A few of them in my story were made with his help.**

**Hey, whoa whoa whoa whoa... stop that.**

**andy: Its true man. So...will the two of them be making an entrance next time? Or the chapter after the next one?**

**Xera: Not sure yet. I write on a whim, I don't plan ahead. However, they will make their entrance. I assure you. And there will be hugs!**

**andy: Yay! For now, we'll leave it to your imagination in assuming who they are. Personally, I have been dying in agony waiting for their reveal! It's gonna be awesome! You excited for them too?!**

**Xera Stark: Xera: It's always nice to see new faces. Especially when they're R#! %#$ to $ N%#. Wait, did I just get bleeped out? *le gasp* I did that to myself didn't I... to invoke curiosity?**

**andy: He's a sly one that Xera Stark... Anyway, we hoped you enjoyed this week's chapter extensively!**

**Xera: Yeah! And don't forget, two years ago today, I released chapter one of XSRA's Flame. So, yay for anniversaries. I did something special the last time. So, this little chat's going into the story for your enjoyment. I also released a new story too! "Rogue Huntsman"**

**andy: Hurrah for the new story! And happy anniversary for XSRA's Flame!**

**Xera: Cookies and chocolate milk for everybody!**

**andy: So as my friend Xera always says so fiercely with a fiery passion...REVIEW! It's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Xera: I only say that because like... four people do it. I'm very appreciative for the few that do, though. I always look forward to reading what they comment on.**

**andy: It's alright, they will do so soon enough en masse. Again, we hope you enjoyed this week's chapter and hope to see you again next time!**

**Xera: meh, I can only hope. Andy will be keeping a watch over the story as we progress, so this little chat was just for a special occasion. We still talk often though, friends do that. See you next time!**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	68. Purple Flames

**No blood. No bone. No ash.**

***Revision: Pace quickened. Priorities straightened. Death imminent. (9/18/16, 1:55 PM)**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 68: Purple Flames

**Third Person**

The red smoldering sun shined into the icy cavern before them. Its crimson rays danced in shimmering lights across the jagged surface of its walls, coloring an icy domain of blood and ruby.

"Well, he definitely has a sense of space," Dante commented, casting his gaze up to the high roof of the expansive cavern.

The two stood atop a cold outcrop, a slope led downward at their right that lowered into a deep open chasm. The sun seeped in through the thinner pieces of the walls, opening out into a sea of red beyond them, as the rest seemed to glow like crystals and rubies.

"This is only the base of the mountain. There's a slope on the other side that leads up." Xera said, nodding to the slick slanted surface leading up through columns of ice and sharp openings in the opposite wall.

"You know, you can always just cheat and fly over," Dante said, shrugging his shoulders as he cast his gaze below.

"Even if I could, and even if I could lift you as well, I think that thing below would stop us," Xera pointed out, casting his gaze below as well.

"Looks like Soul-Slasher's interpretation of Cerberus, the hellhound that guards the gate to the underworld," Dante commented.

Prowling the cavernous grounds below, crawled a beast of flesh and bone. Its incredible hind legs were torn in numerous areas of the flesh, showing muscle fiber and sinew that flexed and pulled with every step. Its upper body was as strong as its lower, sharp claws tearing and scraping the icy floor as it circled the opening below.

Instead of three blazing heads and sharp maws, this beast had a gnashing set of two growling fur-ridden wolf heads. Vicious teeth snarled and bit down into its jagged jaw, drooling blood and overflowing with a cold icy fog that rolled out of its throat. Its very breath froze the ground as its noses did the same, appearing torn and gashed in several areas. A wide red gaze stared hungrily in front of it as it patrolled the ground beneath them.

"The guard dog of this ice mountain," Xera noticed it as well, taking up the gleaming longsword in his hand as he dipped its tip into the ice at his feet, "Though, I think this one has more of an icy touch to it."

"You wouldn't be wrong," Dante responded, "It's called an Ice Zephyrian. They can be born or created in different types, this one being ice. Usually, though, they don't look that… well…" Dante paused to find the word, "Dead."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not in most cases. But in this case, it might mean that Soul-Slasher's able to conjure up past creatures he's devoured. Alongside that, he may or may not be able to create his own army from scratch."

"Okay, so it _is _a bad thing. We just need to be careful then." Xera sighed, lifting the flat side of Aether into view as he twisted the elegant sword in his grip, "All the more reason to end it. It'll be one less thing for him to summon."

"For the most part, yeah. But depending on how powerful Soul-Slasher's become, he might be able to resurrect it from its remains. However," Dante brandished his own glowing sword, lining its edges with a sharp aura as he took a couple steps back, Xera doing the same, "We can kill him before that happens."

The two dug their shoes into the ice and tensed their legs, swords low and eyes straight, "Let's clear this place out and sprint it to the top. If we encounter opposition…" Xera spoke tensely.

"Annihilate it." Dante finished.

"Let's make this quick. We're not leaving here without him still alive." Xera said, before the two of them scraped their soles against the ice and sprinted forward.

They leaped off the outcrop, falling quickly toward the ice below as Xera's wings pierced through the back of his sweatshirt and caught the air. As soon as his wings unfurled, he was gone from Dante's vision, leaving the teen to land on the brittle ground before the large Dark Entity.

"Someone call for the executioner this evening?" He asked, running his hand down the length of his sword and flooding it with aura. The glowing expanse of his weapon extended further, widening by a full foot and sharpening in every regard, "Let's see if we can cut you down a few notches."

The beast before him clawed into the ground, sliding its entire body around to face the teen as it snarled with its gaping and bleeding teeth. Frost shot out of its throat as it howled behind clenched fangs, violently shaking both its heads as it lowered into a lurking prowl.

"No then?" Dante asked, lifting his sword at his side just as Xera shot in from off to right. His wings carried him with an unimaginable speed, bringing his form down into a dive for the creature's neck as Xera plunged his white blade deep into the throat of the creature's left head.

The impact caused the Dark Entity to stagger sideways, mist bursting from its body and stunning it for a moment for Dante to dash forward and lash out with his extended blade. The large edge of it tore deeply into the front and side of the creature, ripping through ribs and flesh as he dragged it downward and severed a hind leg on the way out.

Black blood froze against the ground as the Ice Zephyrian's heavy body slumped to the ground, only one of its back legs still twitching as it howled in pain and swiped at Dante, forcing the teen to skid off to the side as it rolled over and tried to crush Xera into the ground. The phoenix quickly tore Aether out of its gripping flesh and kicked off. He flipped himself around and caught the wind just in time to avoid being collapsed on.

Xera made his way around as Dante dug his shoes into the cavern floor and dashed toward the beast again, slipping beneath its initial swipe and leaping over its closing maw as it snapped at him. He planted a solid foot onto its snout and kicked himself upward.

The white haired teen turned himself in the air as Xera appeared behind him, planting a powerful kick into the bottom of Dante's soles that sent the white haired teen plummeting into the top of the Ice Zephyrian's skull, sinking his entire blade into bone and flesh with ease as the tip of it lodged itself into the ice below.

Xera recovered, flipping himself around then dove for the creature's other head, plunging his white blade into its other skull to ensure the kill.

They stepped off before the beast could even slump to the floor and begin to erode.

"Keep moving," Xera spoke adamantly, swiping his sword to the side as he sprinted for the far slopes. The material of his blade didn't seem to catch any of the blood it just spilled, not a single speck of it tainting its entire form as it streaked in a white light.

"We actually make a pretty good team. But, it's probably best that we don't underestimate anything," Dante said, keeping pace with Xera as the two gunned it up the hard icy ramp, "Who knows what this guy has up his sleeves."

"We do." Xera responded, "But he's testing us."

"You think he's testing our ability?" Dante asked.

"Undoubtedly."

"Well, if that's the case," Dante said with a smile, "We show him our basic abilities for now, but keep all our special abilities under wraps. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

"I already figured that much. If he's able to see us from where he is in this realm, he'll be able to strategize for when we reach him. We shouldn't show off anything too strong or situationally strong." Xera replied, the slope now entering an angle as they rounded the rough edges of the cavern.

The Ice Zephyrian still disintegrating on the ground below.

"Yeah, situationally strong things only tend to work in ideal circumstances. If the opponent knows about them ahead of time…" Dante trailed off, staying at the phoenix's side.

"They'll know how to counter it." Xera finished. The two disappeared into a cave entrance above and continued onward.

Emerging from the end of it, they dashed through a smaller entrance that led into a dimly lit corridor. It jaggedly reached upward for quite a while, reaching toward a tall icy ceiling with the ominous presence only a dark ravine held.

They couldn't make out the details above. A thick black shadow was cast over it, completely masking it from any light or gaze as the two kept walking.

"A creepy long hallway, a door at the other end of it, sounds like an equation for an ambush," Xera commented offhandedly, casting a gaze up into the dark abyss above. His rushed steps lightly bouncing off the walls as he felt it reverberate into the dark space above.

"I'd be slightly shocked if that wasn't the case," Dante replied.

Their paired echoing footsteps solemnly shook the walls as they ran deeper in, riding vibrations up the sharp reaches of ice as they rapidly made their way through. They were just about to pass the halfway point when something dripped from the ceiling above, forcing Xera to come to a skidding halt and barely avoid getting hit by it.

"Black blood," Xera noted, recognizing the stench of it as it crystallized on the icy ground.

More began to ooze out of the shadows, dripping down from the high reaches above as the two took a cautious step back.

It could be acidic.

"There's no time to stall," Xera muttered, gritting his teeth.

"Burn it away, let's keep running then." Dante brushed past Xera, grabbing his arm as the two ran into the shower of dark blood. Xera's flames surged outward, completely engulfing his form as he ran ahead of Dante and forced the smaller portions of falling blood to incinerate in their immediate area.

Lines and showers of the staunch thick liquid collapsed on all sides of them, dripping and collecting between them and the walls as it pooled inward and covered the ground behind them. Dante followed in Xera's wake, minding the heat as he kept within the small bubble of stalled falling blood.

Xera's inferno whipped up even higher as he sprinted forward and speared his sword forward, driving it into the slit of the double door as they slammed into the end of the hallway. He took his hand off the pommel as Dante's momentum carried him into a leaping kick, planting his sole into the embedded blade to fire a burst of heat into the reaches of the black entrance.

Nothing.

"Damn it!" Xera planted his foot into the door and yanked his sword out, brandishing it to the side as he turned around.

"It likely won't open until the enemies in the room are dealt with," Dante informed, narrowing his gaze as the two teens turned around.

"Then let's deal with them."

Accompanying the hail of blood came the cracking of spines and the twisting of bones. The tearing of flesh masking the sickening sound of dripping blood as the two looked up to see countless entities of similar appearance pulling themselves from the murky shadows above.

They pulled and twisted their way out, skin taught against their hollow faces as they stretched their aching limbs. Lean humanoid figures with mouths gaping and jawless, their eyes were simply dark holes in their skulls as the rest of their forms seemed to be nearly skeletal and black.

Skinny and dry fingers took up broken and chipped blades, running their hands across rust and black steel as they all turned their eyes to the two teens below.

One by one, the creatures fell from the ceiling. Each one landing with a sickening crunch and pop of the bones as their seemingly fragile legs took the impact. Their thin bony frames were almost crushed from the drop, only to stand back up and cock their heads in silent stares.

As if they didn't even feel the fall.

"These are creatures of Skyn, they're among the nastier types of undead," Dante informed. All around them, aura blades began to shimmer into view as he began summoning several with his aura.

"What makes them deadly?" Xera asked, needing at least a little information to go by as the Skyn creatures cackled and clicked. The lack of a jaw and tongue only made it sound like gurgled breathing.

"See that blood on the ground?" Dante pointed downward, getting a nod from Xera, "All of that seeps out of their body before they attack. It's why they appear as if they have no blood running through their bodies right now."

"Lovely," Xera uttered evenly, trying to piece together where this was going, "Is there a reason?"

"Because every time you damage or kill one, it collapses into the blood and lets the liquid seep slowly back into them. Once that happens, they essentially heal and stand back up." Dante said, more aura blades appearing in the air, hovering in different states of rest as the tension grew, "Essentially, the only way to end them is to kill them enough times until the blood eventually recedes entirely."

"We don't have time for that. Are there any weaknesses?" Xera asked as he tilted his head, kicking up the heat a few notches and blurring their surroundings with quickly rising air.

"Yeah," Dante nodded, knowing what Xera was insinuating, "But we don't have access to any Empyrean metal right now. If I had Anvil with me, this would be much easier. Unfortunately, that's not the case within this realm."

The creatures around them seemed to have stopped falling now, the entire group of Skyn beasts leaning in awkward stances and twitching their heads. Their weapons almost appearing heavy in their grasps, pulling and weighing their frail arms down as they dragged the tips of their arsenal through the pool of blood at their feet.

They began to advance on the teens.

Dark, sticky, and cold squelches sounded out into the air as the guttural remains below clung to their bony feet. Each one made a move forward now as they closed in on the end of the hallway.

"I can reset twenty-six of them right off the bat. How many can you take?" Dante asked.

"Plenty," Xera replied, a burning blaze settling over Aether as he brought it around to his left side, entering a low forward leaned stance, "But there's something else I've been wanting to try."

"Is now really the time to try new things?" Dante asked.

"It'll make this a lot easier if I do," Xera lowered his gaze now, shadowing it in the darkness of his black bangs.

Dante paused for a moment, "…fair enough."

"I'll let you know when I'm ready… but for now," Xera's eyes snapped to something to his right, and he quickly brought his sword up to parry the brutal slash of a Skyn that got too close, scorching its flesh in a burning slash, "Let's kill as many as possible until I can figure out how to access it."

"Then let's make this the beta test for what you will be trying to do," Dante replied, willing his blades in the air to surge outward and plunge into the skulls of twenty-six Skyn creatures, causing them to topple their heads backward and go limp. The creatures that Dante shot down fell into the bloody bath beneath them, shaking and seizing up in throes of twitchy seizures. The blood around them slowly pulled over their skin, quietly slipping into openings in their flesh as their movements began to settle.

Xera bashed another swing to the side as he stepped forward, cleaving his longsword through the spine of a Skyn creature then moving to block another, delivering a swift heated kick into its stomach to send it sliding over the blood-soaked ground.

They were slow… encroaching them in methodically creepy and sporadically twitching ways.

Xera had enough of it.

His white blade ignited in a stronger flame, blazing as it columned fire out of its hilt as he spun and made a wide sweeping slash through the air. An arc of fire shot from Aether, crashing into several Skyn creatures before them and throwing them in burning heaps into the bloody ground.

Xera and Dante were more than able to fend them off, blocking and overpowering their weak swings as more and more Skyn creatures fell into the blood below. Little by little, with each and every kill, the blood began to recede more and more.

It was only halfway gone when Dante unleashed a mass flurry of projectiles, having built them up over the past few minutes to skewer the heads of all the adversaries around them. Shining swords rattled in their foreheads as the mass of bodies twitched and began rejuvenating on the ground.

Only… this time seemed different than the last several times.

"Now that I think about it, I may have forgotten to mention something," Dante realized, the two standing at each other's side again.

Xera watched as one of the Skyn creature's spine bent roughly backward, its entire body arching into the air as it writhed and collapsed back down into the blood, "There's more to them, isn't there…?"

Dante nodded his head slowly, drawing back his sword as more and more creatures began to writhe in painful ways, arching and breaking their bodies unnaturally as they gathered more blood, "They enter a more frantic and ruthless state at a certain point in their stages. I think we just reached that point."

"A berserker mode," Xera asked.

"Something like that. Only, with more speed than strength."

"…right." Xera nodded, putting his focus back into trying to switch into what he's been trying to do for the past eleven minutes now. It was harder than he remembered… but the suspenseful pain he felt as the time slowly etched by…

It grinded him, pushed him, and threw all his caution to the wind. He had to do it.

The violent spasms around them finally drew to a slow close. Then, one by one, the Skyn creatures seemed to gravitate upward onto their heels and slump forward in thinly standing humanoid forms. They hunched over, long fingers dangling slightly into the blood as they grasped their weapons loosely.

"Here they come. Get ready." Dante entered a low defensive stance, pulling his blade back to his side and angling it away from himself as he waited.

Xera did the same, only taking his own stance in comparison to Dante's. The same stance he usually uses with Annivia's Talons in Excalibur mode.

He'll just have to try and click what he's been trying to grasp at into place as they fight this oncoming onslaught. Even if it meant tearing into his mind and aura to do so.

Until then…

Xera's sword gleamed white as his pupils blazed a brilliant orange, flames licking from his irises as his sharply angled wings became engulfed in a sheen of lambent fire. The surface of the ice around them simmered and sizzled, melting and smoothing over as his flames grew brighter in tense anticipation.

Then just like that, the creatures all seemed to simultaneously lean forward… before they all dropped into rapid, fast paced, aggressive sprints as they drew up their own weapons.

Instinctively, Xera and Dante raised their blades and clashed with the first few that lunged toward them. Blurs of black and sickening gray ran into their defense, forcing them to switch targets after every block in order to prevent a new slash from making contact.

The two dashed in and out of each other's guard, seamlessly swiping into and out of enemy opposition as they fought in moderate cooperation to push back the initial wave of Skyn.

Their swings were stronger now, each clang sending a reverberating pang through their arms as they started putting more and more strength into parrying the incoming strikes. Brittle pieces of black metal chipped to the ground as they fought. Xera's own gleaming white blade bit deeply into the harsh metal of their blades, shattering several swords as the battle pushed on.

Dante's own sword moved swiftly, weightlessly slipping in and out of guards as he parried a strike and lashed out quickly. Switching between offense and defense with fluid ease as he continued to cut down the opposition that charged him, his form trading spots with Xera as they worked in liquid tandem. His style seemed to affect Xera's own fighting techniques, and before long Xera was getting faster with his own swings as well.

The blade in Xera's hand had an air of familiarity to it… like he's used it before. It felt warm, yet cool to the touch, metallically humming quietly as he lashed out and tore flesh. It streaked in pale white, lines of it swirling in front of him with each concise strike.

Their enemies weren't dwindling.

Two fell, two stood back up. Three fell, three lurched back to their feet. It was endless, there was too much blood at their feet and they were beginning to feel fatigue pull at the muscles in their arms.

The Skyn creatures were only getting faster.

"Set up a shield real quick!" Xera called out, putting a lot of effort into a blazing swing as he cleaved through a Skyn beast for the umpteenth time.

"On it!" Dante dipped back, slipping beneath one of Xera's wings as he jammed his sword into the ground. All around, a quickly spanning ring of outwardly facing aura blades appeared and began to orbit the two of them. More and more layers began to appear as well, stacking in rings as the aura blades only seemed to orbit them at increasing speeds.

Skyn creatures threw themselves into the rotating blades, shredding their own bodies before they took a step back and began lashing out at the passing aura weapons.

Some blades within the shield shattering beneath their onslaught.

Xera closed his eyes, sifting through the layers and broken barriers of his heart and reached into his soul. He didn't know what he was doing, or how to do it, but he grasped at the image of his partner and threw away the pain… he needed her strength right now.

Her semblance was among the few that could help him in this situation they were in. Even if she didn't know its purpose yet… he did.

The final piece, one being replaced by another to total three in his heart, clicked into place. It was difficult to describe, almost like a piece of himself, devoid for merely a moment, came back to him. It carried with it a sense of happiness, envy, innocence. It gave him a small craving for Oreo ice cream.

But… along with those soothing feelings… came a deeply repressed guilt, sorrow, and… hurt.

His blazing eyes shot open, pupils smoldering as a deep purple glowed in his irises. Their color matched those of Skyla Xerious perfectly, shining in the dim light of the ravine as his flames transitioned into a blaze of light purple.

The color of his aura shifted, the color of his eyes transitioned, and the color of his flames changed… to adapt to the new semblance settling over his soul.

He was a shining beacon of Skyla's aura.

He crouched down and placed his fingertips against the blood soaked ground at his feet, feeling the air crackle and sputter as the blood evaporated away. Not due to his fire… but something else entirely.

The tips of his fingers grew hot as they lightly shook, almost vibrated, as the ice beneath his hand shattered. Cracks exploded outward in every direction, rocketing up the walls of the icy hallway and breaking them apart.

Shards of black ice plummeted from above, crumbling to the ground and against Dante's spinning shield as the spanning shatter reached the far door on the other end of the corridor.

Its cracks slammed into it and the far walls… before the entire floor seemed to sink and crumble, every single piece of ice shook violently before exploding. The blood that riddled the ground flaked into the air, bubbled, and completely vanished in drifting trails of red steam.

And with that now gone, Xera took a deep breath and took his hand off the ground, letting it out in a slow exhale as his wings flexed and purple fire sputtered from their feathers.

"Kill them. Now." He stated quietly, lifting Aether to his side.

"No complaints here," Dante replied, surging his shield outward in a flurry of blades.

The two dashed out as soon as the blades plunged into the broken walls and a few Skyn creatures, quickly closing the distance between targets as they cleaved their way through the remains of the Dark Entities.

The now brittle ground gave them an edge in movement, sprinting faster than their adversaries as they swept through separate sections of the ravine. And before long, every Skyn creature lay in pieces on the floor as the two made their way to the door again.

Kicking it open as soon as it gave any sign of unlocking. Wasting no more time, the two ran into the uphill corridor behind the door and took off up its slopes.

"I think I just confirmed what Skyla's semblance is able to accomplish," Xera said, a small amount of realization crossing through his tone.

"Wait, really? That's awesome! She'll finally be able to start using it extensively." Dante replied with a pat of Xera's shoulder, keeping pace with him yet again.

The black ice around them was losing its luster now… growing darker as they ascended higher and higher.

"She's already been using it," Xera replied, continuing their ascent of the mountain from the inside without delay, "She just didn't know it yet."

"How so?"

"You've seen it in action before," Xera informed, "Have you ever gone to an ice cream parlor with her?"

Dante nodded after a moment, "I always thought it was weird how those situations always ended up playing out."

"Yeah, so you've seen what happens?"

"Firsthand."

"Okay, well," Xera closed his eyes for a moment and chose his words, it wasn't an easy ability to explain, "…you know how microwaves work, right?"

Despite his enhanced vision, the world just kept growing darker. He had to ignite his fire again just to see the path in front of them.

"Of course. I discovered it wasn't by magic one day, so I decided to figure out just what went on inside the machine." Dante replied.

"Right, well, it's kind of like that," Xera said.

"So in a sense…" Dante glanced at his friend, "She's a walking microwave?"

A light amused smile crossed Xera's lips, only for a moment, "Technically. But it's a lot more than that. Skyla can hyper-accelerate the movement of molecules."

Dante had a moment of realization cross his face as he nodded slowly, "That actually explains a lot. How quickly are we talking?"

"She can accelerate an object to its flash point, which is the moment where it catches fire, then push it past that threshold in mere fractions of a second," Xera concluded. He should know… he just felt it firsthand.

"With how soft ice cream is, it's no surprise that she was accidentally making it explode," Dante commented.

"Yeah," Xera muttered with a small chuckle, "It's almost too easy to melt ice cream. So, when she accelerated the molecules in its structure… it grew so unstable that it just reacted in a violent way."

"Impressive, similar to what you did back there," Dante thrust a thumb behind him and pointed over his shoulder, "That was insane. You did that by simply touching the ground."

"That was just because I mixed my affinity into it, and also because this place is mostly made of ice. Skyla's semblance is a bit of a direct counter to it. If I combine that with my affinity, it should make for a rather solid attack strategy and defense strategy." Xera said.

"No kidding. They're both heavy counters to the ice here," Dante replied, but he quickly fixed Xera with a questioning look, "How come it took a while to do that?"

"That's," Xera paused, letting out a held breath as he kept his eyes forward, their steps beginning to echo back off of something in the near distance, "…a hard question to answer. When I experience a semblance I've never used before, it takes a lot of effort to try and activate it into what I'm currently able to use. Which is just three, and I've taken to calling it my 'Active' semblances."

"Do the rest just go into storage? Or, something akin to that?"

Xera nodded to that, but the first stages of using a semblance were always the hardest. Especially when he's never personally seen it in extensive action before, so it's all new to him, "I'm still getting used to it."

"True enough… I'm still getting used to my own. It just takes a whole lot of time to find out its… true…" Dante's voice slowed as the two exited the end of the winding tunnel and entered into a room of complete darkness, "…developments."

A wide floor opened out before them as they made their way over it. Their padding shoes shot echoes through the entire area like gunshots rattling over the hills of a mountain. A vast array of segmented columns and pillars stood strong all around them, holding up the low ceiling above as they continued into the blinding shadows.

No light emitted from anywhere within the room, not a single source or glow. All they had was the flames flickering over Xera's skin, having been reverted back to his previous bright orange color.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Dante commented.

"I do too," Xera couldn't help but reply with that, a cold chill running down his heated spine as their voices carried through the room like a pin dropping in a silent metal chamber.

Followed by dead silence.

That cold chill only worsened as a distant, almost quiet sound of metal grinding against hard ice slowly drew nearer. Two dull thuds sent shudders through the walls, accompanying the sound of grating steel as the two teens fixed their piercing vision toward the approaching noise.

Those thuds only got louder as they struck the ground one by one. As if a figure were walking toward them from within the veil of darkness.

"Two children, how foolish."

A voice, deep, masculine, and filled with echoes collapsed over them. Its tone carried through the silent room with a presence of chilling absolution, burying them in its air of confidence and emptiness. Xera and Dante skidded to twin halts, swords ready at their sides as the voice grated at their nerves.

The footsteps grew louder now, and as the seconds drew longer, the two made out a figure approaching them from the central shadows of their path.

It… wasn't a Dark Entity.

It was- _he_ was human. Or, rather… he used to be.

"An abomination posing as a human and an angel fallen to flame. You expect to be given passage to the peak of this mountain, yet you encounter only me before you." He spoke, voice echoing once again. It sounded muffled slightly, with a metallic clasp over its syllables… like he was speaking through a helmet, "You are not yet worthy to step foot into the realm above. And you never will be."

"Oh really?" Dante asked, lifting and resting the flat side of his aura blade against his shoulder.

Xera's flames grew brighter, shining forward to reveal a figure clad in black armor. Its shoulder guards were spikes, drawn outward as if to impale something in a heavy shoulder bash. His helmet was angular and sleek, shaping down into a smooth visor that undoubtedly hid a face of dying flesh.

His broad shoulders led down into a sharp chest, covered in segmented armor in layers of metal that overlapped as they went down. Almost like scales. His waist was fairly slim, leading down and outward slightly to form his hips, legs, and spiked, segmented greaves. The armor itself was a dark pristine black in color in its entirety, glimmering dully in front of Xera's flames as he stood before the two teens.

"I am Eostryder." The man spoke calmly, lifting a claymore into view and sinking its heavy tip into the ice in front of him. It had a curve to it, rather than maintaining a straight nature. The curve traveled down its sharpened double edges, shaping inward slightly at the middle before curving outward, then sharpening into a point at the end. The hilt was the shape of a thick diamond, and his gauntleted fingers clasped a large handle in his grasp, a weighted jeweled pommel resting at its base.

"I think I'll just call you Eo," Xera muttered, getting an amused smirk from Dante.

"You may deem me whatever title you wish, but take heed," Eo lifted his blade out of the ground as if it were weightless, hefting its size with ease as he brought it around and held it at his side in a tight grasp. Its length ran parallel to the ground, "I will be the greatest adversary either of you has ever fought."

"Awfully confident in your abilities if you're going that far… I've fought all kinds of creatures during my time. Creatures like the current invader festering in this body. Now, what makes you think you're above the rest?" Dante asked, shifting his weight slightly to prepare to move if he needed to.

"Because I was among the few Black Knights to ever live. I am the first Dremoha slayer and the last Omega hunter. I am Eostryder, first knight of the Requiem of Black Inquisition." Eo brandished his blade, an orange gleam running down its slick surface as he brought it around then swung it outward…

A piercing wave of pressure split the air in the quiet room, digging into the ice pillars in the distance beyond his swing. It was just a normal swing…

What was astonishing about it… was the fact that it moved faster than it could be visually tracked. In a dark room like this, it could very easily result in a swift and brutal end.

Xera's pale knuckles drew white as he came to that conclusion, fingers tightening around the cloth handle of Aether.

His armor didn't help with that, considering it made him practically invisible as soon as he left their line of sight.

"Leave the history lessons for professor Oobleck," Dante spun his sword around into a reverse grip and lowered his stance, "I'll request this once and only once. Let us through and let bygones be bygones."

"Something tells me Eo won't be up for a high five and a 'go get em'," Xera commented lowly, his orange fire blazing brighter as he placed the tips of his fingers to the icy floor.

"I am afraid I cannot do that. I serve him now," Eo responded solemnly, almost emotionlessly behind his metal helmet, "His will is my command."

The ice beneath Dante's shoes cracked as he surged forward, gliding past the knight before him and slashing his reversed sword at his armored leg. Xera followed up, leaping into the space before Eo and digging the point of Aether into where his heart should be, super heating the blade to temperatures hot enough to melt steel in an instant.

But with all the force behind the strikes, neither Dante's weapon nor Xera's sword so much as scratched the non-budged knight in any minute way. His armor remained pristine and untouched, even as a surge of fire blasted over him.

Xera kicked away from the knight just in time to spin away from a retaliation slash, the knight's blade grazing his wing only slightly, tip scratching his feathers and severing small pieces of black softness to the floor. Dante's slide led him behind Eo after his own strike, changing his hold on his blade to a normal style now.

The two teens dashed in, again and again, sweeping over the ice as they slashed at the knight's armor. Occasionally, the man would block their attack in full, but the rest slipped into his guard. It wasn't due to slowness or unpredictable moves… in fact, it wasn't any of that.

He could tank all they could throw at him, even as the ice cracked beneath his boots and the pillars shook around him with every clang.

Xera and Dante soon skidded back to one another's sides at a slight distance, eyeing their target as they changed their strategy.

"Aim for the chest." Xera stated.

Dante nodded in response, "Ready when you are."

The two disappeared in blurs of white outlined in black and a flurry of lime green lights, the light in the room quickly diminishing as it followed the two moving teens. Eo sunk the tip of his claymore into the ground, grasping it tightly with his armored hand as he tracked the two teens before him.

His eyes followed one while it crossed paths with the other, switching targets to that one before they did it again. He watched carefully as the two circled him in different intervals then dashed behind the pillars, coming out the other-

Dead eyes narrowed within his helmet as the light faded from the pillars on either side of him. Their presence left him, leaving him in the dark once again.

"Pitiful," Eo muttered, seeing it as a sign of retreat as he took up his blade and turned around. He took two steps back toward where he came from… only to sense the presence of the teens for merely a split second.

It was immediately followed by both teens dashing in from behind him and delivering simultaneous strikes to his unguarded back. An eruption of white aura outlined in black and a sea of fire blew over his armor, scorching the room as the entire chamber became illuminated in a swirling colorful light.

His visor shook violently, his entire body suddenly becoming engulfed in the swirling energy waves as the ground quaked and shattered in a rupturing cone in front of him.

Xera and Dante stepped back, letting the blast settle as they tried to get a read on the damage they most likely inflicted.

"Your prowess and your confidence do not sway me," Eo stated, diminishing the burning flames and the smoldering aura with a soft and clean swipe of his blade, dispersing them entirely. His armor remained fully intact and undamaged, his sword still shined with an edge as sharp as before, and his stride never so much as faltered as he walked toward them.

"This guy has some serious armor." Dante thought aloud.

"Either that, or it's something else that he's hiding," Xera responded.

The two backed off as Eo approached, blade extended at his side as he leaned forward, "Prepare yourselves." And with those words spoken, he moved far faster than a man fully armored from the ground up should be capable of moving.

Xera's flaming wings curled in front of him as took the full brunt of a shoulder charge, crushing his tense feathers against his light frame before sending him careening across the room. Eo's charge quickly turned into a clean horizontal sweep of his sword, catching Dante's side in the moments of him dodging backward.

The blade tore through with a splatter of blood before Eo moved once again and caught Dante by the neck. In a quick and sudden surge of strength, he tightened his grasp and threw Dante across the room in the direction Xera went.

Darkness transitioned in a blur before Dante impacted the far wall, shattering the ice there as his breath was torn from his lungs. Xera's own form lay crumpled slightly in a heap, a deep indentation in the wall behind him as well as he pushed himself to his knees. Wings sprawled out at his sides.

"You know… I think… he may have been…" Xera took a deep breath, getting a hold of the wracking pain shooting through his body and bones as his aura and affinity dulled it all in the next moment, "Holding back a bit."

Dante tore himself from the wall and landed on his feet, walking forward to listen for Eo's movements as they recovered, "He was definitely holding back. The question is, how do we beat him?"

"The day man cuts through steel with a feather is the day I can give you an answer to that question," Xera replied softly as he pushed his hands into the ground, climbing to his feet as his wings helped him regain his balance.

"Save the analogies for later," Dante replied, "We need to figure out a plan."

"Do you have an attack that can deliver an incredible amount of piercing damage to a pinpoint location of a target?" Xera asked, stepping up to his friend's side and gazing out into the darkness of the room.

"I do. Why?"

"Well, you asked for a plan. And I think I just came up with one…"

* * *

Eo stood at the center of the room, waiting for his adversaries to prepare themselves once again. He needn't pursue them nor end them in any particular fashion. He knew his time was long, and his servitude lonely.

A challenging battle was what he needed.

His cold eyes soon sensed a presence approaching him, and he turned his visor to see Xera approaching him from the distance. The teen had a dark purple, almost black, flame trailing from his skin and feathers. His pupils once again blazed in a similar color…

Dark purple flames in a sea of amber irises.

"You are persistent, I will give you that." Eo spoke stoically, turning his sword in his grasp as he faced the incoming teen.

"Persistence is only admirable if there's a chance of succeeding," Xera responded calmly. Even in a room such as this, the sword in his hand seemed to glow a radiant white and streak in pale colors within its wake.

"Success is only succeeded by death. Nothing lies before nor after her touch, which leaves you with a futile effort that is nothing more than a vain attempt." Eo returned as calmly as the teen, "What drives you to your own destruction?"

Xera stopped for a moment, eyes flashing a dark blue before returning to their golden amber, "I fight for something you can no longer feel, so you wouldn't understand."

"You are not wrong in that regard. However," The Black Knight stepped forward, shattering the ice at his feet as he moved at an incredible speed once again. He appeared at Xera's side immediately and lashed out, "I feel far more than you will ever know."

His sword cleaved through Xera's flesh, bone, and torso, severing it completely from his body as the teen's form began to fall. Black aura covered the interior of his body until the entirety of the collapsing teen blurred and vanished.

"I doubt that." A gleam of white traced Xera's blade as he slashed at Eo's throat, slamming his blade against armor there before the knight reached out and grabbed at Xera, only for another clone to take his place. Xera's sword soon slashed across his legs before dashing beneath him and sending a heavy cleave diagonally across his back.

A searing burn quickly roared into the room as the metal of Xera's blade transitioned into a bright orange, shining over its white core like a dense star as he dug the tip into a chink in the man's armor, carrying with it an inferno of heat and flame.

The searing tip slammed against the man's dead skin as the ground quaked beneath them, shattering and rupturing.

_It didn't pierce…?_ Xera pulled back, realizing two things. He dodged the invisible sweep of a black blade and ducked a full-fledged left hook from the knight, slipping around a bash from Eo's shoulder as he skidded backward and came to a rapid conclusion. _That would explain it. _Xera's eyes traced the cracks in the floor as he turned to his opposition.

"You cannot beat me. Your brother's soul is as good as gone, it is unsalvageable, let him be consumed by the one I serve." Eo spoke, standing up straight again as he turned toward Xera, his attacks having been evaded.

"As long as I live and breathe, Soul-Slasher will not devour my brother and take him from this world," Xera spoke, a small softness apparent in his words that masked itself with a hardened resolve.

"Soul-Slasher?" Eo asked with a confused laugh, dead humor chilling his voice, "Is that what you humans call him…"

Xera stared at the knight in mild confusion, "What does your kind call him? Your master?"

Eo scoffed at that, "Master is a derogatory term assigned to women of lower classes. The entity I serve holds honor far above all our heads. He is the one being in this world that I serve, and will continue to serve for the rest of my eternal life." Eostryder stated, his armored hands clinking as he tightened his hold on his blade, "His name is Zeridûl, Devourer of Worlds."

_Zeridûl… _Xera's thoughts were as quiet as his voice, "Honorable or not, there is still one underlying factor." The phoenix's flames were burning brighter now, shining a lighter purple as his eyes melted into dark purple irises.

"And what, pray tell, would be that factor?" Eo asked, bringing his sword around then dashing toward the teen, making a diagonal swing for his body to cleave right through him.

Xera glanced the strike off Aether's flat edge, delivering it into the icy clutches of the ground as he moved forward and entered Eo's guard, "My brother's life dangles from a burning thread. You should know what it's like to lose the ones you love."

Pale fingers made contact with Eo's chest plate, and the whole room became illuminated in a burning red light. Black armor accelerated to a temperature far beyond what any conductor could take before beginning to warp. The very ground beneath the two combatants shook and fragmented, quaking in a wide continuous expanse as the seconds ticked by.

Eo brought up his claymore and tried to bring it down onto the teen before him, his vast aura quickly draining as his semblance was pushing itself to its unforeseeable end. It was too late. Xera dropped his hand from the man's armor, causing the ground to stop shaking, before taking hold of Aether in a two handed grip and heftily slashed its upward, cleaving through Eo's softened armor and crashing into unbreakable skin…

But the breakable ground soon erupted in shattered fragments, completely shattering now as the columns and pillars spanning throughout the entire room crumbled to the floor.

Xera forced the man's sword and arm upward before dislodging his weapon from Eo's armor, plunging it deep into the shattered ground below immediately after, "You should've killed us while you had the chance."

With that, his white Aether flashed and sunk into the realm's blackened ice, eyes dawning a glow of bright purple before the entire spanning ground vibrated…

…and broke.

Eo's heavy form was sent into the air, disconnecting himself from his semblance's greatest trump card as the very floor began to fall to ruins.

"Don't you dare miss," Xera muttered.

"Who said anything about missing?" Dante asked, his voice coming in from the side as the room began to crumble. His sword had sunken itself halfway into the ground, glowing a bright white outlined in black as he kneeled behind it on one knee. One hand rested atop the pommel of his aura sword while his other tightly grasped its handle…

And at his side, turned and swirled a massive culmination of aura swords. All of them rotated from a fixed point at the center of the entire organized cone of blades, rapidly spiraling in the air before his own eyes glowed and snapped to Eo's falling form.

In less than a moment, the entire salvo of blades surged forward and met at a single point in Eo's armor, swirling like a blinding drill as they all came crashing down into that singular target of focus.

Every single blade hit their mark, sinking into soft armor and piercing flesh with ease… before skewering the heart of Eostryder ninety individual times, all in a fraction of a second.

The Black Knight collapsed to the floor as the room came to a standstill, finally calming down from the hyper-acceleration of its molecular movement. Eo's glowing form lay in a heap, white blades fading away from his chest as Dante dislodged his own sword and joined Xera in the rubble.

"You figured out his semblance, didn't you?" Dante asked, helping the teen to stand up and dislodge his own sword from its sunken position in the ground.

"More or less by the end there," Xera breathed out a long sigh as he glanced down at Eostryder's eroding form, "The ground quaked every time he took a powerful attack. So, I figured all the kinetic energy was being transferred into the structure he was in contact with upon its impact."

"I noticed that as well, though, not right away," Dante admitted.

"Neither did I. Not until a few moments ago." Xera replied, letting his purple eyes melt away as his fire returned to its usual color, "Also when I said hit a precise point… I didn't mean skewer it with a hundred blades."

"Well, it worked out in the end didn't it?" Dante shrugged his shoulders with an amused grin.

"A bit overkill. I know you name your moves most times, so what was that one called?"

"Light Piercer."

"Huh, pretty fitting," Xera commented, pushing himself from the rubble and letting the scraping ice fall from his skin. He lightly stepped his way over the broken surface, making his way onto solid ground as Dante followed at his side.

The darkness ahead of them had drifted away, the room having collapsed in numerous different sections due to its support structures being gathered in crumbled remains on the floor.

What was once the dark room was now a crimson field of crystal ruins.

Openings in the ceiling flooded the entire chamber in crimson and scarlet glows, shining down onto their path as they saw a large staircase ahead of them at the end of the room… and through the opening at its final step…

Burned a red sun.

* * *

**I seem to be doing well with a bit of a schedule, don't you think? Well, stop thinking that then. Because nothing is ever set in stone for this story. I just happen to set Fridays and Saturdays aside for writing, while Sunday is solely a day for homework, study, and reading for my classes.**

**Fun right? Not really.**

**Anyway, a nice little closing scene here. I hope you all caught the little allusion I've been trying to pull. You see that red sun? The smoldering presence in the sky that overlays everything in this realm?**

**Noticed how it wasn't apparent within the mountain?**

**Yeah, well if you still haven't figured it out. The red sun alludes to the presence of Soul-Slasher, or Zeridûl,** **now. He had a strong presence in the hall of memories and a strong presence at the peak of the mountain, but that presence was masked for the duration of the climb through the mountain's interior structure.**

**Funny how things work out like that.**

**I'm tired.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	69. Catalyst of Memory

**I take full responsibility for what happens next.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 69: Catalyst of Memory

**Third Person**

Red poured from the exit ahead of them. Shining crimson smoldered through crystals of ice like glistening rubies of blood, swirling in the depths of fleeting light.

They shimmered in the walls as the teens ran, skipping steps as they took the stairs in front of them in quick leaps. The walls around them narrowed, pulling in as they reached the top then breaking away as the crimson glow reached its strongest.

They were at the peak. The reaches of the highest point of the mountain revealed before them.

"It impresses me that you've made it this far, though, that's hardly a surprising matter. Nor is it trifling." Zerath- no, it wasn't him. It couldn't be him.

But, it _was_… and that made it worse.

"Zeridûl," Xera spoke the name of the entity before him, standing far beyond the point they stared out from.

_He_ stood at the far end of the mountain's peak, a pristine black ice claymore embedded in the ground before him. He faced them from a thick platform above a flat face of ice that raised him above the level of the central area, a jagged outcrop of ice running down its front. Two slopes of stairs slipped down in mirroring inclines at the two ends of it, curving down to surround the lower area before leveling off at its surface.

Columns of ice towered around its perimeter, reaching into spires and sharp broken points that climbed in varying heights throughout the area. Thick walls surrounded the entire peak, jaggedly stretching and chipping as they curved around the mountaintop, before breaking off entirely at the platform Zeridûl stood on.

Leaving an opening that overlook the spanning land of ice and ash.

A bright red tear of fire split the sky behind him, obscuring his form only slightly and darkening his skin. Its blazing column of light disappeared over the edge at the entity's back, shining into the sky in the backdrop as it connected with the red sun overhead.

Its rim of fire only brightening as a smirk tugged the blackened skin of Zeridûl's assumed form, eyes shining with an unnatural light that pierced the air in a flash of bright red. Two brightly glowing irises of overflowing scarlet, surrounded by a sea of black sclera and engulfing slit pupils.

_He _took Zerath's form… in its entirety. It was him. Zerath was in there… and he was fading.

He was losing control… while _he_ was claiming it.

"The name of my kin," Zeridûl took a deep breath as he grinned, relishing in the taste of his own title, his words freezing in an icy wisp, "I haven't heard my own name," His eyes closed, dark hands resting atop his hilt and pommel as he took it in, "For a long time."

"It'll be the last you hear of it," Xera took a cautious step forward. His body brimmed with both boiling hatred and heightened caution.

This was it. This was the end.

This was where Zerath lived…

Or died.

Dante stepped over and placed a hand on Xera's shoulder, "You need to calm down a bit, Xera. If you let your emotions run rampant, you run the risk of placing yourself in unnecessary danger."

Xera took in his friend's words… but they meant nothing.

His emotions fueled his power. That fact loomed over his head ever since the day his affinity was discovered. It pulled at him, gnawed at his soul, resonated with his aura, it fluctuated and it burned, it accumulated and it flowed, his emotions were the catalyst.

He hated it.

Those very emotions were the one thing he locked away. The one thing he repressed. Until… until the one person he held most dear brought those barriers crashing back down again. To expose his heart once more.

To allow him to use the manifestation of power permeating within him.

"I've given you every opportunity to turn back, yet you remain," Zeridûl's voice carried with it an icy chill, slithering down from his frozen outcrop as he pulled his sword's point out of the ground, "You stay because you hope to see change, to see a fitting end to your ideals and your strife. Well, let me be the first to tell you."

His claymore was sharp, the very air split itself in two as he brought it around and held it out from his side. The long black hair reaching his shoulders lacked the white streaks it once held, the details of his trench coat were smoothed over in pitch blackness, the rest of his ensemble doing the same.

"Your brother's long gone," Zeridûl stated, "He's dead."

Xera felt a subtle warmth shift within his white blade, Aether's light brightening for only a moment before fading, "You speak words that hold little value in their truth. Don't underestimate Zerath. He's smarter than you think."

"Knowledge comes hand in hand with ignorance, phoenix," Zeridûl stepped toward the ledge before him, leaving behind a broken archway rising at either side of the blazing light, "I know of your brother's knowledge. I know of his past and his present. I've counted the breaths he's taken in life and the cuts he's sustained in training. I've tasted the blood he's spilled from his veins and the blood he's spilled from his enemies."

Zeridûl stepped forward once again, the ice beneath him shattering and cracking as it broke away and gave him a stone to stand on.

"I know of his weaknesses and his strengths. I've seen his successes and his failures, felt his happiness and his sadness. I've experience every sensation and every agony, every hardship and every lie, spoken every truth and tasted every word he's ever uttered."

The stone lowered as he walked forward, bringing him to the central area as he stepped off several meters ahead of the two that stood before him.

"You fail to understand, phoenix, just how _long _I've been at this game. I know Zerath more than you can ever hope to realize, and more that you _ever_ will, no matter how long your lifespan may be," He brought his sword around and let it reflect the light of the red sun, "Not that it matters anymore."

Xera's shoulder burned parts of Dante's hand to the bone, despite his regenerative ability struggling to heal what was burned away. And yet, he refused to let go.

"He's trying to lure you in," Dante said, his voice low, "You need to take a deep breath and focus. If you charge him without a plan, then you will be forfeiting your life for him to take."

"Don't tell me what I already know," Xera muttered as the bangs of his hair smoldered in an orange glow. His red irises trailed a similar light as he glanced back at Dante with flames flickering around his pupils, "If you've ever known me, even for a moment, then you'll understand one thing that I revolve around."

The air shimmered around them. Blank spaces of brisk shuttering wind glimmering from an unnatural waver in their spanning reaches around Dante and Xera.

"I'm always thinking things through, even when I may seem blinded by everything else. Just remember that… even if you're convinced otherwise…" Xera's voice grew quiet as his aura shifted.

Red eyes melted away as the phoenix's rage and anger rose, a new shade filling his irises. Swirling them with a new, crystal color.

Bright sky blue.

They didn't carry the sympathy, or the kindness, or the understanding that they usually bared. They held within them a power unknown to all else that lived… except for the one who stood next to him.

The flickering flames that shined in his eyes and burned in his hair blazed over in a new shade of fire, darkening completely as they transitioned into flames of ebony and black.

White pinpoint swords began to shimmer into view all around them, shining solidly like crystals of bright glass, before each one turned and blazed in an outline of black fire.

"What the… I didn't… when did this happen?" Dante reached out toward one of the aura blades, only for his skin to melt away as his black bones made contact with one of the manifestations of solidified aura, the sinew and flesh of his hand regenerating shortly after.

Xera's wings twitched and fanned outward, a black haze flicking from their feathers like shadows in a misty darkness. More and more aura blades shimmered into view, each one appearing just as brightly as the others as they pointed toward Zeridûl on center stage.

"You think weapons of pure aura can pierce my skin?" Zeridûl asked, his blade remaining at his side as he extended his other hand.

Xera simply shook his head, "You assume I'm incompetent with the knowledge I currently know." The phoenix stated evenly, "Your aura nullification will render them useless."

Zeridûl brought his blade around to his front, this time turning it so the flat side faced the teens before him, "That wouldn't be fair, now would it? You've come here looking for a fight, a climactic end to this dilemma with your brother. I shall give you one."

"Honor will be your downfall," Xera's wings stretched as he took a step forward. That was when the countless blades hovering in the air began to move.

One by one, in flurries of dashing white light and black flame, they collected across Xera's wings as they melded with the sleek black feathers throughout his entire set of appendages. Each feather paired with a blade of a unique size, and each blade soon replicated the shape of each feather.

Zeridûl smirked, "Armor of the finest qualities, how fitting. Its defense is high and its offense even higher. I applaud your ingenuity, yet my word remains. This fight will be fair," He took another deep breath as his eyes brightened, "I will not negate any of your aura. It's been a long time since I've had a true fight."

"You request a true fight," Dante stepped forward as well now, his skin fully healed as he reached out and created a replica of his own longsword from an intricate burst of aura, "But are you willing to keep your word until its end?"

"I am." The dark entity returned, hard eyes slipping over the sharp edge of his blade as the two approached.

"Then accept your death with the very honor you have shown us on this day," Dante finished, his sword now suddenly brimming with an uncontained light as he brought it around and swept it rapidly through the air in front of him, "Devouring Light!"

A sound that could only be described as a thousand mechanical lions roared from his blade as a white bursting light shot across the ice. It tore up the ground as it vibrated the entire structure before Zeridûl slashed through its wave of energy, splitting its rushing blaze and letting the manifestation detonate around him.

"You'll have to do better than-"

A wing of blades slashed before him and forced his blade into a flat block, feathers of aura crashing against his ice as Xera turned and slashed forward with Aether, forcing the entity to dodge backward.

Dante quickly dashed in behind him and tore his blade through the entity's back, spilling black blood before Zeridûl turned and lashed out with his own sword, clashing with Dante's and sending the teen skidding backward. The entity followed his turn fully around and brought it up, bashing Xera's sudden strike aside and countering with a quick slash toward Xera's chest, only to glance off of Xera's quick wing.

Spikes of ice soon split the ground around the entity and rushed toward both Xera and Dante, piercing through the hard ground in rapid waves of lethal sharpness. Xera was quick to take flight as Dante leaped into the air, reaching a hand up as Xera flew by and pulled the white haired teen even higher.

Several unending columns of ice soon erupted from the ground, shooting into the sky in speeding climbs that forced Xera to weave in and around each rising spire.

"Okay, I don't know how you're doing it, but you're able to make aura blades to some extent, which means we might be able to overwhelm him!" Dante called upward as the two nearly careened into a column of ice, needing to plant his shoes into it and kick off as it soon collapsed back into the ground.

"To some extent, yes! But we can try!" Xera responded, pulling Dante around after his kick as the two dodged past several more columns.

Before long, the rising pillars of ice all crashed back into the ground as Zeridûl raised up his free hand, flexing the fibers stringing his fingers together as he tapped into more of his power.

Shards of ice suddenly whipped up out of the black ice at his feet, forcing Xera to drop Dante and curve his wings in front of him to deflect the flurry of attacks. Dante took that moment to brandish his weapon and hold out his own arm as he fell, three large aura blades soon plunging down toward Zeridûl from three separate angles.

The entity managed to sidestep two of them before he deflected the third and shattered it with a swift kick, only for those smaller shards to reform just as Dante landed. The white haired teen dashed forward and pulled his larger blade out of the ground with a leap, immediately sweeping it through the air in a downward spin that struck the edge of Zeridûl's blade.

Dante and Zeridûl suddenly entered a flurry of clashes, sweeping blades from angles and plunges as they struck weapons and dashed in and out of each other's guards. All allowing Xera to hover above the two below as he channeled his aura and fire, causing several aura blades to shimmer into the sky around him as they pointed downward.

Dante managed to summon in several of his own as he fought, masking each one in an invisible veil as they appeared. None of this went unnoticed by their enemy.

Zeridûl spun his blade around and swept Dante's sword aside, kicking the teen in the gut before turning and delivering a heavy slash toward Dante's chest, only for it to be blocked by a newly formed sword as the teen was sent backward.

"An admiral try for my attention, but don't take me for a fool," Zeridûl lashed out with his blade, a dark sheen of ice covering its surface that sent a wave of shards at Dante's skidding body. The teen managed to deflect most of them, but a few slipped by his sword and embedded themselves into his skin.

"What gave you such an idea to insinuate that claim?" Dante grunted out, breaking the ice piercing his skin as he dug his sword into the ground.

Zeridûl scoffed, reaching out into an empty pocket of air before crushing his hand around one of Dante's hidden aura blades, shattering it immediately, "I can sense every disturbance in the air that you currently breathe. Don't take me lightly."

The entity proved his point by lashing out to his other side, shattering another blade into fragments in the air.

"You seem to have missed the true purpose of my actions," Dante tore his blade out of the ground as Xera softly landed behind Zeridûl, forcing the entity to glance back toward the quiet noise.

"A distraction?" The entity asked with a laugh.

"Not in the slightest," Xera replied, striking the ground with his blade as he sent a surge of black fire through its structure. Smoldering black flame ruptured across the ice and erupted beneath Zeridûl's form, forcing him into the air.

"Now!" Dante yelled, all of his aura blades reappearing in glints of white light outlined in black as every single one of them shot forward.

Those streaks of white and black were accompanied by the hail of Xera's blades from above, each one streaking in black fire as they struck Zeridûl and the ground in a flurry of breaking ice. Cold mist culminated before them as the ground itself was torn to pieces, a storm of blades impacting it from countless angles as Xera's and Dante's blades rained down on the entity.

The potent smell of blood quickly filled the area, splattering the black ice below with a gushing darker liquid as it cracked and shifted.

"You think this is enough?" Zeridûl's voice spoke out as the rain of blades continued to fall, "This is only the beginning."

The ground suddenly quaked as it completely reformed itself, before shattering outward and reforming again, throwing Xera and Dante into the air as a black blur dashed out of the cloud of rising mist. Xera's instincts were what saved his heart from being torn from his chest as his wings encompassed the space between his body and Zeridûl's lunging form.

A harsh clash ripped through the air as Zeridûl's blade slammed into Xera's wings, shattering the bladed armor the teen had and sending the phoenix crashing into the jagged wall in the distance.

"You think this image is mortal? You think me killable?" Zeridûl scoffed again as he stood up straight and turned, slashing away Dante's attempt of a strike from behind before grabbing the teen by the face, and then slammed him into the ground in a painful attempt to crack Dante's unbreakable skull.

"Y-you're… not… immortal," Xera coughed out, his wings aching at his back in a throbbing series of painful twinges. He forcibly pushed himself out of the wall of ice and landed harshly on the ground in front of him, shoes digging into ice as he ran forward again, "You're not unkillable."

Zeridûl laughed again, "How little you know."

His blackened eyes soon snapped down to Dante though as the teen took a solid hold of his wrist, before in a flash Dante tore his blade through Zeridûl's forearm, completely separating it from the rest of his body.

"You insufferable-" The entity's words were cut off by Dante pushing off of the ground with his hands and delivering a solid kick into Zeridûl's chest, forcing him into a minor stumble backward just as Xera's wings surged with movement.

The air burst behind Xera as he flashed forward in a haze of now purple flame, plunging Aether deep into Zeridûl's upper back. The white weapon tore straight through his black heart, breaking bone and driving through skin as Aether's tip emerged from the entity's chest.

Xera soon reached forward and pressed his hand against Zeridûl's back, purple aura flaring before the entity's skin suddenly smoldered and burst in evaporating clouds of blood. Aether quickly became dislodged as their enemy stumbled forward, clutching at the hole in his chest as his skin and sinew reformed around him.

And for a moment, Zeridûl's eyes flashed into the color of Zerath's before returning, followed immediately by a bright white light that emerged from the wound Aether had inflicted.

From the wound the final fragment of Zerath's diminishing memories resided in.

"So, you've found it…" Zeridûl shuddered from the light emitting from his open wound, before it slowly closed and his skin healed completely, "The one piece Zerath guarded most of all."

Dante slid over to Xera's side as the entity choked out a distorted chuckle, his chest constricting around his lungs.

"You mean to tell me… that _he_, after all this, still has enough of himself to recognize your presence?" Zeridûl's breathing returned to normal as his amusement resided, "Impossible."

"Nothing's impossible," Xera retaliated, swiping his gleaming white blade to the side as he and Dante re-gathered themselves.

"Impossibility is only limited by those who perceive it and those who concede to it. You are no different, phoenix," Zeridûl's hand reformed itself with blood from the ground, returning it to its original state as he formed a new ice sword in his grasp, "Even if you stop me here, stop my reign over your so-called brother, he will be nothing more than a husk. A capsule. He will remember absolutely nothing of his former self."

Dante brought up a new sword at his own side as Xera's gaze narrowed, purple flames slipping away as his original orange fire took over again.

"Give me an opening," Dante muttered.

Xera didn't hesitate to dash in. He slipped along the ground in a low rush before dipping around a quick slash from Zeridûl, maneuvering himself into the entity's guard and slashing his white blade through their enemy's side.

Again, another light emitted from the wound inflicted.

Xera didn't let up. He managed so turn and slide around Zeridûl's other side, slashing through there too before the entity slashed downward. Pain appeared to be surging through him from each wound inflicted, the only pain he's ever visibly shown, as Xera dodged the strike and kicked off of the hilt of the icy blade.

Aether's edge tore through the front of Zeridûl's chest, ripping open a curtain of white light before Xera kicked away and flipped his light form backward, landing softly on the ground a few feet away.

It was an opening Dante refused to miss.

White light shined brilliantly from his replicated aura sword, its shape barely containing the aura surging within it as it overflowed and poured from its sharp edges. He soon entered a low stance… before charging forward.

Shards of ice kicked up behind him as he disappeared in a blur of white outlined in black, driving the tip of his sword deeply into the closing slash of white light as he reappeared in the space at Zeridûl's front.

"Devouring…"

The amount of aura contained in Dante's blade was overwhelming, and it was immediately released as soon as he plunged it into the depths of the entity before him.

"Light!"

The replication of a move used prior was absurd due to its ineffectiveness before, but Zeridûl didn't have the means to negate it this time. His world suddenly whined in a smothering roar once again as he felt his chest melt away, a torrent of focused white light blasting through his entire body and destroying the platform behind him in a cone-like rupturing beam.

All splatters of blood burned away as quickly as they spread, evaporating into black mist as Zeridûl grew limp and hung on Dante's sword, blazing light diminishing soon after. A wide gaping hole smoldered in the entity's chest cavity. Heart, lungs, central spine, and everything around them completely burned through as Dante removed his sword.

It was all just… gone.

As Dante left Zeridûl to fall, the white haired teen snapped his sword to the side before cleaving through the remains of the entity's torso, severing it completely. But as quickly as it split, it pulled itself back together in a web of black bloody strands of flesh.

Similar strands soon snapped together and reconnected the sides of the opening in Zeridûl's chest, stringing it all back together as the hole began to close.

Dante slashed again, but the skin he split only mended itself back together all the faster.

"This isn't making any sense.… A dark entity can't develop immortality… Even so, they have a set amount of times they can regenerate. And the amount increases with classification. But the potency of his healing is far beyond what he should be capable of possessing."

Xera's white blade suddenly cleaved through Zeridûl's limp neck, cutting cleanly through it and leaving behind another white light. Only, it didn't sever his head like it should've…

The skin still melded itself back together as Zeridûl's eyes glowed a brighter red.

Xera tried again, this time slashing down through Zeridûl's skull before bringing it back up in a slash across his chest and closing wound, only for the wounds to heal as quickly as he made them.

"He's not immortal, so there's still a way to end him," The phoenix stated with grit teeth, making another swipe for Zeridûl's neck, only for his wrist to strike something cold and hard.

Stopping his blade.

The flash of an icy claymore was all Xera saw before his hand was thrown aside and his grip loosened on Aether's handle. The ethereal blade slipped from his fingers as his form crumpled forward against a bone-crushing kick to the chest.

Ribs cracked and broke beneath the weight of the kick, aura shield shattering as he was hurled into the ground at an impossible speed.

The time necessary to even blink hadn't so much as transpired yet as Xera crashed downward, ice crumbling and shattering around him as he skidded in a harsh tumble across the scraping surface of the ice.

His wings curled around him, lessening the scrapes and the gashes as their durable tensed fibers protected his fragile frame.

If only slightly.

Aether's white shimmer faded as it fell, solemnly falling toward the ground as Zeridûl reach down.

His fingers barely touching the cloth of its handle before his entire hand separated itself from the rest of his arm. Dante swept in, catching the white blade as it fell and swept his bloodied aura sword to the side, before delivering a swift kick into Zeridûl's recently closed wound.

"I don't believe this is yours to take," The light in Aether's shining blade rekindled as it resonated with Dante's soul and aura, "This small piece of the soul you're devouring belongs to one person and one person only."

The white haired teen glanced back, seeing Xera's role come to a sliding halt as his wings slowly unfurled from around his body.

"His brother needs this sliver of light," Dante continued, pausing as he looked forward again, watching Zeridûl's eyes narrow, "We fully intend to make sure he sees its safe return."

The entity brushed off the front of his black coat, cloth mending together now that his flesh recollected itself, "That comment would warrant some merit… if there was a brother who could actually receive that sliver of memory."

"It takes an immense effort to fully eradicate or absorb a soul. Being what you are, you of all people should know this." Dante retaliated, pulling Aether back as he flicked it around into a backhand style, aura blade now held out in front of him in a lowering stance.

"I do, yet you fail to realize one thing," Zeridûl quietly pulled a new blade out of the ground, angling it in front of himself as he entered a defensive stance, "I am Zerath's life force as I reside in his soul. He is tethered to me, and I to him. If I am slain… he _will_ die."

"Doesn't matter, we will find a-"

"No way exists in this reality or the next, not with your power." Zeridûl's sickening smile stretched across his face as he turned his blade ever so slightly, "You either accept it, or you take full responsibility for the death of Zerath Stark."

That was when Dante realized something. Something Xera had only momentarily sensed before he was thrown to the side.

A glimmer of hope.

Something began to reverberate through Aether, its light somehow shining a mere fraction of a level brighter than when he first gazed upon it in the alley.

There was a way. They still had a chance to preserve him, to save him.

They only had one shot.

"Xera, when you get up…" Dante spoke loud enough for the phoenix to hear him, Xera's bruised arms pressing into the ground as he tried to move again, "Follow my lead. And, please, trust in my decision."

Zeridûl's smile faltered for a moment, "You plan to take the life of his brother? You'll kill him at the expense of stopping me?"

Dante's eyes grew dark, bangs shrouding them in a dark shadow as he lowered his gaze, "I take full responsibility… for what happens next."

Nothing could prepare Zeridûl for the speed Dante closed the distance at.

The nine-foot gap zeroed out in an instant, Dante's sky blue eyes the only thing the entity saw before twin slashes were delivered to his abdomen, one glowing while the other closing immediately. Still, he managed to back off and slam Dante's next strike upward, deflecting it with his blade as he made a stabbing lunge for Dante's chest.

Ice met nothing but the steel of Aether's streaking edge.

Dante shattered his aura blade, summoning a new one to lash out once more, clashing both blades into a solid crossing block from Zeridûl's claymore.

He refused to let up.

Again, the blade shattered and Dante's hand carried its momentum, slipping beneath the blocking sword and generating another blade in time to plunge its tip into the entity's leg. The white haired teen quickly backed away before kicking off the ground, driving Aether's edge through Zeridûl's arm as the dark entity tried to remove the embedded blade.

More followed.

Dante slipped in and out of the man's guard, dodging around rapid and vicious swipes of Zeridûl's icy blade. Half of them glanced over his skin, splitting it in various places while several others left deep gashes in the rest of his body.

He didn't care.

Blade after blade, the sound of rupturing flesh and severed tendons rang out across the icy mountain's peak. Dante slammed aura sword after aura sword hilt-deep in varying places of Zeridûl's body, riddling him with shining points of white aura as several more struck their marks.

It still wasn't enough.

Dante quickened his actions, plunging several more into vital areas inside his enemy as he let his own flesh get cut up and torn, ignoring each wound he sustained.

It was only enough to slow him down.

"Enough!" Zeridûl slammed the prong of his blade's hilt into Dante's gut before driving his sword back and plunging it through the teen's chest. Its cold edge slipped between the bones of his ribs as it tore through one of Dante's lungs.

The life in the teen's eyes failed to fade. Black blood trickled to the floor as Dante's own blood followed close behind. One free hand came up and gripped the edge of Zeridûl's blade tightly, even as the entity lifted the teen from the cracked icy ground.

"You're lucky I don't have the means to kill you," Zeridûl growled, white and black blades still sinking deeper into his flesh as he lifted his boot and kicked Dante from the length of his sword.

A sickening squelch tugged from Dante's chest as he slipped forcibly from Zeridûl's weapon.

It was enough… to buy the time that was needed.

Aether slipped from Dante's grasp as he flung it upward, white steel whirring through the air as its handle was caught in the grip of a descending teen from above.

Xera had just enough time to burn his wounds away and leap into the air, catching Aether a moment later to deliver a heavy slash down across Zeridûl's heavily damaged skin.

The first cracks began to form.

"I broke your ribs, you shouldn't even be-"

The ground cracked beneath Xera's shoes as he dipped forward, tearing Aether through Zeridûl's stomach before bringing it up and through the entity's chest, severing bone along the way.

With a growl, Zeridûl caught Xera's wrist just as Aether's sharp edge left the cavity of his chest.

"Learn to accept defeat-"

Xera let go of Aether as he kicked the bottom of its handle, sending it skyward as Dante flipped over the two combatants. The teen caught the blade and brought it down through the back of Zeridûl's skull and straight down his spine, causing him to release his grip on Xera.

As Zeridûl turned and lashed out at the white haired teen, Dante tossed Aether through the entity's guard and let Xera take hold of it again.

The two worked with efficient abandon, all restraint gone as wildness in fluidity took hold. Aether's shining form slipped from grip to grip, spinning and flipping with each toss as its length was buried, torn, and dragged through blackened skin and sinew.

White streaks littered the air as pale glows littered the reaches of Zeridûl's body.

And with them… spread webs of cracking white light.

Ruthlessly, no regard to mercy, Xera and Dante exchanged weapons over and over again, driving Aether through as many areas as they could that wracked the entity's body with more pain that he's ever felt before.

Time and time again, a new slash appeared on his body as he slashed at and deflected attacks from his front and his flank, but it wasn't enough.

They worked around him, timing and executing maneuvers to damage his hide as the cracks began to spread.

The jagged lines of glowing white light slowly began to engulf him.

"W-what… are you…" Zeridûl's voice began to fade into a dying echo, eyes flashing in and out of sky blue and dark red as more and more of his body became engulfed in white lines of light.

"We're doing you a favor," Dante spoke, driving Aether's tip into Zeridûl's back before kicking the shining pommel, sending the weapon straight through his body for Xera to catch and sever his torso completely.

The light in Zeridûl's eyes began to fade as the power in his voice began to waver.

Tremors now shook the ground as the black ice beneath them shifted, collapsing in spanning areas as pieces of the mountain top broke away.

Aether's light had long since started to steadily grow, brimming now with a light it didn't possess before.

"We're sending you back to the abyss you clawed yourself out of," Xera stated with a calm lethality, plunging the tip of Aether into Zeridûl's heart, "It's your turn to accept defeat."

Xera twisted his blade, white light emerging from the wound as the rest of Zeridûl's body brimmed in a culmination of energy and a crackling white blaze.

Cracks suddenly shattered across Zeridûl's entire form as the light finally diminished from his red eyes.

The white light of Zerath's fragmented memory burned before erupting, gathering its energy in an implosion of destruction before its immense waves of darkness and light were dispersed through the dark ashen lands and the mountain of ice.

A spanning shockwave violently quaked the ground in a deep burst of suspended sound that shook all the reaches of the sky, shattering and breaking the ice away as the whole mountain crumbled beneath the force of its passing glow.

Zeridûl's world fell apart.

The ice of his realm shattered and burned away. The scarlet haze of his thick sky melted into a sea of crystal blue. The black ash smothering the world below was wiped away, leaving behind fields of white grass and shimmering oceans of blue water.

The red sun above wavered in its crimson light, snapping its tether it held to the lands below as its unstable ruby rim burned away. The blackness of its heart now replaced with a shining lambent white blaze.

All of it changed as the white light crashed into the ground and shot across the furthest reaches of Zeridûl's realm.

The two teens were left plummeting to its surface. Dante's form struck the grass first, a soft thud echoing out as Xera's wings had just enough strength to slow his decent by a small margin.

Even so, his legs still buckled beneath him as he collapsed. Aether fell at his side, embedding its tip into the grass before him.

Rolling over, Xera glanced up into the crystal blue sky and reaching his hand toward it… feeling a soft cool breeze pass over his skin and drift through the locks of his hair.

It smelled fresh… cold… it lacked the stench of blood and the smothering odor of icy death.

Aether shimmered beside him.

It wasn't just a blade. It wasn't just a fragment of memory or a sliver of light. It wasn't just a small ray of hope. It wasn't just a light in a pit of darkness, or just a way to save a life. It wasn't a fleeting miracle for them to strive for.

It was a catalyst of memory.

The more it faded… the more it took.

It wasn't the last sliver of Zerath's memory…

It was everything.

It was a capsule left behind, holding onto the last possible piece of Zerath's soul in a single weapon of his remaining light. It was emptied of its memories, only able to hold onto the last of Zerath's past as it sat in the darkness of an alley.

The alley that started Zerath's life anew.

It was the beginning… and it was nearly the end.

Aether recaptured the memories it had lost with every swing, every pierce, every plunge, and every slash. It gathered as it dealt, it took as it was taken, it rebuilt… as it fell apart.

It took back what was stolen from it.

Zerath's soul… had been returned to him. And with it, his memories.

"It seems we really did return Zerath's memories. He just needs time to make sense of it all. It'll take him some time to reprocess his memories, but… he'll be fine now…" Dante's voice spoke down to him, and Xera turned his gaze to see the white haired teen standing next to him.

Hand extended toward the phoenix on the ground.

Xera took it…

Just in time for the world to go black.

Xera felt his mind reel in pain as he was yanked from the consciousness of Zerath's body, forcibly removed as he and Dante returned to the world of the living. Their eyes snapped open, sweat residing over their skin, as the blinking light of the infirmary room weakly flashed on and off.

As if a dark hurricane tore through the room mere moments ago.

The ice was gone. The only window of the room had been shattered, cracks and black stains riddling the wall around it.

Zerath lay crumpled in a broken bed, its sheets shredded and torn. Inuba and Destiny lay against the wall behind them, weak arms holding themselves up as the young girl in front of them collapsed to her knees, the barrier of pure white Aura she put up dissolving into nothingness soon after.

"I'm sorry… I had to keep the connection…" Her young voice came out in a meek, low tone, "I had to make sure you returned…"

"What happened?" Dante asked, his mind trying to push aside the familiar pain in his right arm.

"Given my current restrictions, I could do nothing effective…" The girl replied, no portion of her pale face visible now as she dipped her hooded head, "He was strong. Stronger than we originally anticipated…"

Wind flooded in through the opening in the wall, pushing against the door of the room as it brushed against the weakened floor below.

Dante slowly closed his eyes, one breath escaping his lungs as he quietly nodded his head, "He got away."

His blue gaze soon opened again, falling to Xera as the phoenix slowly stood up, "How powerful will he become… if we leave him alone…?" His own eyes hovering over Zerath's still breathing form.

"The facts are still uncertain, but I sense something that should not exist in this world," The girl replied, her small hands clasping at her elbows as she spoke, "He is drawing power from an object that should never have appeared in your world, Xera."

The girl soon turned her head to Dante.

"You know what it is I speak of…"

"Unfortunately… I do…" He responded.

"How powerful will he become?" Xera asked again, this time turning his gaze to the girl kneeling on the ground.

"Enough to raise an army," She replied, "He will have enough power to challenge everything… and the world will become his battlegrounds."

Xera dully nodded, pale fingers pressing into his palms as his fists grew white, "Then we need to hunt him down."

"That's great and all, but we need to find him first," Dante said.

The young girl shook her head, "He has yet to hide himself. He looks to be awaiting another challenge as he bides his time. His power still manifests within him."

"Let's give him another challenge then," Xera said, glancing back toward the recovering forms of Inuba and Destiny, "But this time, we'll need all the help we can get."

His friends were willing to help. The conscious members of his team were willing as well… They were all there in case he needed them.

He realized that… but it would put them all in grave danger.

He could only hope there would be enough power to join him that could defeat the power they just unleashed upon the world of Remnant.

A power that could possibly doom everything… for the price of saving his only brother.

* * *

**I know, I know, I always hate it when there's a good amount of build up to something only for the 'bad guy' to 'escape'. And then we're all like, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! AFTER ALL THAT JUST HAPPENED?!"**

**Yeah, trust me, I'm a little skeptical about what's happening as well. However, as stated in this chapter, it's very difficult to eradicate something in its entirety. Especially when it holds power such as the one Zeridûl possesses.**

**They had simply just pushed the dark entity from Zerath's body and disconnected him from his soul, separating him completely.**

**They couldn't kill him. If they did while he was still connected to Zerath, Zerath would DIE. I know I've been pushing that a lot, and I'm half tempted to just kill Zerath off right here with how long he's been dying for.**

**But that wouldn't make for a good resolution… It'd create a nice bit of drive, though.**

**Maybe I will do it.**

**Revenge is just as powerful as avenging.**

**As a bit of a pre-warning before anyone starts to freak out, I know the following chapters will get stale if they contain pure fighting like this one. So, I'll be focusing more on strategy, combinations, and interactions that solve several problems throughout what's to come instead.**

**That should keep things fresh.**

**I'm so out of my element with this style of chapters as well. This is officially my longest fight, non-cut and just as pure as it gets, in any of my chapters. The Leviathan fight was long, but that had numerous scenes mixed in with it alongside a heavy emotional turning point.**

**This felt… different. And I struggled writing it. Hopefully, it turned out alright. I'm not used to such long scenes, so I'm playing to a couple weaknesses here.**

**In any case… The collaboration continues.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	70. Duos in White and Black

**Does anyone else bounce when they walk? No? Okay…**

**Warning: New characters.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 70: Duos in White and Black

**Third Person**

The morning sun once again peaked over the horizon of the brisk Emerald Forest, littering the foliage and the forest floor in flowing streams and patterns of dancing lights.

"Do you think big brother is here?" A young, female voice asked. Black knee-high boots danced across the ground as she lightly stepped over the next jutting root and slipped around the trunk of a tree, mirroring lines of white zippers ran down each one.

"I do not quite understand why he would be, but this is undoubtedly his aura signature." A teen of the same age, fourteen or fifteen, responded as he walked alongside the young girl.

The girl hummed quietly as she swung around another tree, falling back in line with her twin brother, "Maybe he had something to do?"

"I would assume so… It's likely something of a personal matter he's attending to." The boy stated, walking a more normal and less excited pace than his sister.

The two were identical. Their facial structures, white hair, light sky blue eyes, and physical frames were almost carbon copies, except for their distinguishable genders. The girl had shoulder length hair tied up in a ponytail, the tip of it swinging about lightly behind her as she walked. She was approaching a well-developed body, though retaining her petite nature as well. A black dress vest was layered over a white blouse, its two tails tapping lightly against the backs of her knees.

Her black pleated skirt was trimmed white with an identical interior, reaching down to the midsections of her thighs. Something she tended to play with as she stood still or walked in silence.

The boy had chin-length hair and a much leaner and toned frame, sporting a white long sleeved dress shirt beneath a black thin fabric jacket. His outer layer was trimmed white and his collar was turned upward, obscuring some of his pale neck. Simple gray jeans and shoes completed his ensemble.

"A personal matter, huh? But seriously now, what reason do you think he'd need to visit an alternate reality?" She asked.

"No clue," The boy admitted, "We can ask him when we find him."

"Come on, Leo!" The girl drew out, slapping the back of her hand into her brother's arm, "What if it's something nefarious?! Like an affair?! Maybe he's with someone! Oh no, how would Inuba react?!"

"I really doubt it's something like that… Besides, she went with him, Ciel." Leo noted.

"Well, that doesn't mean he's not up to something. And as his sister and brother, we have a duty to make sure he's not doing anything stupid." Ciel stated matter-of-factly.

"He's always doing something rather ridiculous."

Ciel blinked quietly for a moment, retort getting stuck in her throat, "Okay, that's fair."

"That doesn't say that he's doing something reckless right now, though." Leo added on, "Perhaps he's just visiting a friend."

"Oooor, he's about to fight a colossal Dark Entity with the help of some friends and going to save the world!" Ciel paused dramatically for a moment, before tacking on, "Again…"

"That is a possibility." Leo responded, before he suddenly picked up a small trace of foreign aura. His eyes flicked quickly ahead of them, tracking something between the trees of the Emerald Forest, "Stop walking for a moment."

Ciel stopped immediately, narrowing her own eyes and reaching for her weapon.

It was quiet. Too quiet for a forest infested with Grimm. A light breeze drifted through the air, blowing his white bangs slightly as he reached up and broke a small branch off a nearby tree. He then tossed it in front of him, only for it to split down the center as soon as it passed through a diagonal ray of light.

The halved pieces clattered dully to the forest floor, muffled only by the sound of a thin shining line of light before them.

It was at neck level.

"A trap?" Ciel asked quietly.

"Undoubtedly," Leo said.

"For us?"

Leo turned his gaze slowly, drifting through a scan of their immediate area as his eyes traced every detail in his line of sight, "It's best we assume the worst."

"Assuming the worst can save your life," Someone spoke lowly, the two instantly narrowing in on the new voice as a figure in black stepped out from behind a tree in front of them, "Or, it could get you killed with little results but your own worries."

He wore a cold, emotionless face. Bright lime green eyes glowed beneath the shadow of a black cowboy hat, its front lip slightly tipped down to cover the tops of his eyes. It appeared worn and used, no longer pristine, and almost dusty in appearance. Yet, it retained its solid shape. The hat hid a head of unkempt black hair. Messy strands poked out around his ears and forehead, while the rest simply stood out at the back of his head.

His gaze was critical, analytical… calm. Not a twinge of fear ran through his cold blood, not a moment of uncertainty crossed eyes, not a single nerve sparked with a moment of apprehension or buzzed with any amount of anxiety.

A pair of pale hands dipped deeply into the pockets of his slim, lightweight trench coat. The collar was upturned and his build was thin and toned, reaching exactly 6 feet tall in his entirety. His coat's shoulders had a subtle sharpness to them, barely there but noticeable in the way he calmly stood before them.

He knew they were dangerous. But he either didn't care… or it didn't matter.

Worn black jeans and slightly lengthened black combat boots adorned his legs, the backs of them tapping against the tails of his coat that trailed just past his knees.

The only other color in his clothes was the light gray trim on the rim of his downward tipped cowboy hat.

"Seriously dude? A modern cowboy?" Ciel asked, "What do you want with us?"

"I want something very simple and easy to obtain," The man before them, or teen really, due to him appearing around seventeen or eighteen, grinned slightly beneath his hat, "And you are going to divulge that information."

"We're visitors from a neighboring Kingdom, I'm sure you must be mistaken. We probably do not know the information you are searching for," Leo spoke up.

"Awe, come on brother," Ciel whispered excitedly, "Don't you wanna have a fun fight while we're here? It'll be a nice training exercise."

"Look around, Ciel. Focus on the glints of light you see in the leaves and the trees, between the trunks and the branches," Leo quietly responded.

Ciel did just that and lost count after quickly noting half a thousand glinting lines of light, "They're everywhere. I thought it was just the sun's rays earlier."

"This isn't a fairytale or an enchanted forest," The teen in black interrupted, his bright, subtly sparking eyes never leaving the two in front of him, "This is reality. And reality is a lot less beautiful than it seems to appear to be."

"A girl can dream you know." Ciel retaliated, sticking her tongue out momentarily at her adversary.

He showed no reaction to it.

"You seem rather confident," Leo pointed out, "Do you really think we're trapped like this?"

"There are 717 invisible strands of unbreakable aura in the vicinity of this section of the forest, 115 alone string together in the path between you two and me. Every single one of those is fully capable of severing you limb from limb." The teen responded lowly and monotonously, as if it were an explanation for a mathematical equation, "Do I think you two are trapped? No. If you're as competent as I think you are, you'll find a way out. If you're not… then I guess you two are both as equally useless as I initially thought."

Ciel's lips grew into a challenging smirk, "Sever our limbs huh... Hmmmm… Who's to say we can't just walk out the way we came?"

"You can try, but I have full control of those aura strands. New ones were places as soon as you stepped forward, even an inch." The teen in black responded evenly.

"No matter how hard you mask your aura, the power behind it can still be traced," Leo spoke up, "I can see them, and so can she. They're not as invisible as you might think."

"A boy can watch a train approach him from a mile away, yet if he's tied down, he can't do anything but watch it grow nearer. You can see my wires, yet you still can do little against them. You can move, but you risk a part of your body with every step." The teen countered.

"Is that so?" Ciel wondered, stepping forward as she drew out her weapon in a white blurred flourish. She twirled it around and spun it past her body, swiping her large blade in a tight rotation before cleaving it down onto a taught strand of light in front of her.

The edge of her incredibly sharp weapon slammed into the strand with a resounding clang.

Neither budged an inch.

"It didn't cut…" Ciel muttered.

_It didn't break her weapon…_ The teen in black noted.

A black, human-looking skull's eyes bore into the strand at the top end of the pole of Ciel's scythe. A scythe blade emerged from its wide mouth, its material was colored white and spanned as long and wide as Ruby's own scythe blade, reaching five feet long. It had a half circle notch on the sharp edge curve of the blade where it, and the skull, connected to the pole.

Black ribs adorned just beneath the ebony skull, creating a small black rib cage that spanned its spine downward to form a long pole that slightly curved at its rib cage above, all of which was black.

The teen noticed the pole of her scythe ended in a lower backbone, and its length extended two feet taller than the young girl holding it.

"A scythe wielder," He muttered, loud enough for the two to hear him, "Your kind is all about appearance with little regard to efficiency. A scythe is the least effective weapon. Any bladesman will tell you the same."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that looks can be deceiving?" The girl asked, drawing back her weapon and bringing it back behind herself. She had enough of this guy, if he wanted to talk like this and act like he's the most important person in the world, then she wasn't going to hold back this trick on his account.

She lashed out, swiping her blade horizontally in a wide fashion.

It looked ridiculous, swiping at nothing, until the bones and sinew of her scythe's spine extended rapidly as she tore it through the air.

The man didn't even flinch.

He lifted his left forearm lazily, letting the inner shaft of Ciel's scythe crash against it in a solid metallic bang. Ciel only smirked and retracted her blade without missing a beat, only for the teen to turn and bash the underside of her wide blade with his other arm, letting her weapon return to its normal size.

No damage was done on the return trip either, even as the curve of the blade pulled back dangerously closed to where his upper back should've been.

"You suspect your enemies to neglect spatial awareness, even in combat," The teen in black shook his head with a low tsk, his hat obscuring his eyes completely now from his lowered crouch, "You're as arrogant as your weapon suggests."

"Says the guy cheating with a field of wires as his safety net. If you're so strong, how about we fight fairly? Ever think about that? You're as arrogant as you look, weirdo. You even wear all black like some sort of Mary Sue overpowered character from a poorly written anime." Ciel rattled off, dropping back into a low stance as she eyed the one in front of her.

She stood alone now.

"And not even that, it's probably just a side story that no one cares about because the main character is so bland." She continued, narrowing her own eyes as she waited.

A sudden flash of something hidden off to the side sounded out. The first burst of gunfire, carrying a concussive rupture that echoed across the entire expanse of the forest.

An impossibly fast eruption of lime green strands of aura tore out of the ground around the teen taking a knee, his thin black glove sparked with the same electrifying light as he pressed it into the dirt. The rapidly fluctuating cyclone of wires blocked the flurry of incoming bullets from Leo, dropping white and black chunks of metal to the ground.

"Your brother is rather impolite. At least I revealed myself to you before doing anything," The teen stated, the tip of his hat lifting to reveal his calm eyes as his shield continued to bash aside the second onslaught of bullets.

Each shot was aimed for an opening, or a would-be opening in his shield.

Too bad his strands moved faster than Leo's specialized bullets.

"You're the one that's rude. You trap us in the woods, a young girl, and her twin brother, and threaten our lives while demoralizing us with your words. How can you be any less than what you just said?" Ciel argued, rushing forward and slipping into a route that would've looked ridiculous and unnecessary in any other scenario.

In this case, it was the only way to clear the distance by avoiding the now brightly glowing strands of lime green light littered around their surroundings.

"I never directly attacked you, now did I?" The teen asked rhetorically just as Ciel reached his shield, "You two are the ones who fired the first shots."

Ciel leaped over the field of aura strands, using her scythe's tip to catch as many as possible as she flipped over the fluctuating storm of light and tore an opening in his shield by tugging the wires upward.

Leo took the opening immediately.

Twin, intricately black-trimmed, pure white handguns came out of rapid rotations around his fingers and rested solidly in his palms once again in his sideways dash. Their barrels gleamed in the light as he dodged around glowing wires and fired, the wavy black patterns across them faintly glowing as he delivered hot metal through the air.

All of his shots entered the storm of aura strands through the opening that Ciel had created, his sister softly landing on the opposite side of their enemy a moment later as he rotated his handguns twice more. He took aim and held his fire now, each barrel slightly warm across the twelve inches each one spanned.

Thin black chains slipped out of his sleeves and connected to the butts of his guns, softly clinking in the wind now as he held his position.

"Thanks for the ammunition," The field of green strands dropped just as quickly as the teen within them rose, a sleek black revolver gripped tightly in his hand clad in a black fingerless glove, its fabric was thin and its length ran slightly up his right forearm. It, and his gun, sparked brightly with his aura as he immediately fired in Leo's direction, forcing the teen to dodge.

Two bullets clipped Leo's arm.

They were fast, far faster than any normal gun should've been capable of firing. They reached a speed as if each one was fired from his own enhanced guns, if even just slightly faster than that.

But, how was that possible?

Leo narrowed in on the teen's glove. Only one hand was adorned by it, the other remaining bare as he used it to slam his hammer back for rapid consecutive shots. He had sensed it earlier, but now it was clear to him.

That glove was some sort of catalyst for this teen's aura… but, how much aura did this man have? Leo couldn't get an accurate read on it, even with his more than capable senses.

Ciel couldn't even take that opportunity to attack. The field of strands that the teen threw off of himself was all directed at her, forcing her into her semblance to just barely slip around its reaches.

The teen then kept his gun trained on Leo in the distance as the storm of strands turned and collapsed toward Ciel again, forcing her to keep dodging. He then raised a hand up to tap the inside of his ear, "Shadow, lock them down."

Ciel's and Leo's legs suddenly froze, as if they had suddenly glued themselves to the forest floor in a treacherous and cold hold. Blackness crept up their shins, only stopping after reaching their knees and keeping the twins solidly in place.

Neither of them could move their lower bodies anymore.

"Before you make the blunder of thinking Shadow is my partner's real name, I'll save you the trouble. It's a codename, and he's a marksman that can shoot a bullet out of the air ten clicks away in a low-light level hurricane." The teen explained, dragging his gloved hand through the air after slipping his gun into a holster beneath his coat.

_This guy doesn't beat around the bush, does he? _Ciel growled in her own mind.

Several more strands took form in front of him as he created a new wall between himself and Leo.

Both twins continued to struggle against their restraints, but whatever was holding them down was strong enough to prevent even the smallest of budges.

"You're in no danger, as I emphasized from the start," The teen in black continued, eyeing the two before him as he put his hands in his pockets again, "All I wanted was a small piece of information. A simple question, yet you both attacked me with no justification."

His voice was low, calculated, and almost bored. Not even the slightest bit of effort slipped into his tone, not that he was at all winded.

"Now, before you run off, tell me what I want to know," For the first time, the teen's lime green eyes narrowed beneath the tip of his hat as his face grew dark, "Where is Xera Stark."

* * *

"And then Leo here fired off another barrage of bullets as he used his semblance to tether the guy in his place, then called upon all the bullets he purposefully missed and forced them to circle the guy. The whole thing was like a giant saw blade!" Ciel exclaimed, kicking her feet in excitement as her eyes widened in anxious wonder, "And he spanned the circle out to sever some of the surrounding trees while I cleaved through the rest. He then tethered them and forced them all to collapse onto the bad guy in the center!"

"Tiiiimmber!" Skyla yelled, face held tightly in her hands as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Exactly!" Ciel laughed in amusement, "Everything happened so fast! _So _fast he couldn't do anything but stand there and let it happen! I was able to break out of the restraints on my legs and escape with my brother while the guy was encased in trees!"

Skyla gasped while Allix tapped her elbow from her crossed arm stance, "How did you break away from whatever it was holding you down?"

"I figured it had something to do with my shadow," Ciel explained, "So, I flooded my legs with a bright aura and weakened it, then the added strength was more than enough for me to yank free. Leo did the same, right brother?"

"Y-yeah." Leo nodded momentarily, looking away from the several glances that suddenly turned toward his position against the wall.

"He was totally awesome out there, we nearly had that guy too!" Ciel clapped her hands together once more to bring the attention back to her, "But since it was the first time seeing all his abilities, we just couldn't predict it all coming. If he ever comes up again, we'll be ready."

"How do you know he hasn't shown you everything?" Ren asked, sitting beside Nora at the edge of a nearby infirmary bed. The rest of his team sat side by side next to them, while teams RWBY and the girls of CFVE resided on the edges of two other beds that were surrounding the few teens that sat in chairs at the center of the room.

"It is likely that he was holding back in favor of the information he was seeking. So, it is certain that we have not seen everything." Leo responded.

Fox and Yatsuhashi leaned against the opposite wall of the male twin, accompanied by Sun and Neptune. Rideat and Anna kicked up on the last remaining mattresses of the four beds located immediately around Ciel, Skyla, and Allix.

"That's some tale," Rideat spoke up, "But how can someone block your attacks so easily? You two have enough aura to be on an entirely different level than all of us here."

Ciel looked to the one in the beanie, tilting her head slightly as she took in his appearance. Was he… blind? No, that wouldn't make sense… he could somehow see her aura. Was that how his visual senses worked? A semblance?

"You have a keen eye," Leo spoke up instead, "However, based on my own analysis, I couldn't get a solid read on our adversary's aura capacity nor predict its capabilities. It was either too vast to fully pick up, which is unlikely given my capabilities, or he masked it in such a way that hid it from scrutinizing eyes."

"Which is also highly unlikely," Ciel added on.

"Okay, so which is it then?" Coco asked from her seat beside Velvet.

"We cannot make an assumption yet based off of the information we currently have," Leo informed the fashionista, "We also know very little about his partner, I couldn't sense their presence for the entirety of our encounter."

"This guy, and his partner Shadow, do you think they'll enter Beacon's grounds?" Ruby asked, fingers clasped tightly in her lap as she glanced toward the two strangers in front of her.

"I doubt it," Weiss spoke up at her side, "They may be powerful, but I highly doubt they're reckless enough to stroll into a place like this."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ciel muttered, before shaking her head slightly and changing the tone of her voice, "They were looking for someone. He had no intention of even fighting us."

"But you fought him anyway?" Blake asked.

"I would've, he sounded like a hot-headed prick," Yang commented.

Ciel just shrugged, "My bad. I thought he was challenging us."

"That was also his intention, I believe," Leo said.

"In any case," Ciel brushed all the comments aside, "Do any of you happen to know someone named Xera Stark?"

Her question left the room in a dull silence. Her own bright sky blue eyes traced the glances of the others, watching in mild confusion as several of them traded looks with one another. A few of them… looked almost unsure of themselves.

Ruby was the one to turn back to her and begin to say something, "He's-"

"Xera Stark is dead." Rideat cut in before the reaper could say any more, "He was shot down during the conclusion to a tournament held last week at Aero Coliseum." His voice was even, cold, and honest. He showed no signs of false intel, despite Rideat's awareness of the lie he spoke.

"Dead?" Ciel asked, as if for clarification.

It took a moment but several nods in the room confirmed the hyena-faunus's words.

"I see… Forgive me for addressing this bluntly," Leo started, drawing the attention back to him, "But if you think you're protecting this Xera by telling us a lie, you are doing little to defend him. This enemy is powerful and he's looking for your friend for reasons unknown to us. Do you really think they believe his death was real?"

"Forgive me for being equally as blunt," Allix fixed her gaze onto the teen leaning against the wall, causing his eyes to advert momentarily, "But what gives you two any right to know about my dead leader? We've never seen you until today so how can we know anything you've told us today has even the smallest morsel of truth in it?"

"But… but Allix… it was such an awesome story! How can it _not _be true?!" Skyla exclaimed.

"I know right!" Ciel tacked on with the same amount of excitement. It was truly an awesome tale.

"Allix is right," Blake agreed, "We know very little aside from your names. Who's to say that you're not the ones looking for Xera and not these supposed enemies you encountered." Amber eyes narrowed as the cat-faunus crossed her arms. Above everyone else, she was the most skeptical about these two new arrivals.

Their appearance was rather convenient. The timing was uncanny, falling on the day that such a climactic problem with Xera's brother was on its way to being resolved. How can anyone just shrug that occurrence off like it was nothing?

"I can vouch for them," Dante's voice came from the doorway, causing everyone to turn their gazes to the white haired teen as he entered the room.

Alongside him walked Xera.

"Who are they-" Allix nearly lost her balance when something pushed past her.

"Big brother!" Ciel proclaimed, dashing across the room and pushing her speed and strength into a tackle hug with Dante. The teen managed to keep from bowling over, but he enveloped his younger sister in a soft hug as he ruffled her hair gently.

That was enough to dissuade the unease most of the teens in the room felt.

"They're related to Dante… that just makes me distrust them even more…" Allix admitted.

"What makes you say that?" Skyla asked.

Allix simply shook her head softly, "He's too perfect, annoyingly so. Not to mention that he keeps showing up here in our reality. I'd rather just him keep to his own business."

"If I didn't know any better," Skyla reached up and tapped Allix on the nose, "Your hatred sounds like it's stemming from denial. Allix, are you in lo-"

"Only in your own mind, Sky. He's far from my type." Allix retaliated coldly and swiftly.

"Wait, what _is _your type?" Skyla asked.

"Sleek, elegant, curvaceous, and slim." Allix commented, her eyes glancing back to Skyla and taking in her excited look. It was as curious as ever.

A light smirk quietly slipped across the archer's lips. So, she continued.

"I look for a nice edge and some flexibility and, above all, a beautiful body." Allix listed, straight face almost slipping into a dreamy flush, "They need to be quick and agile, while also durable and strong enough to protect me."

"Oooh, this is getting good…" Skyla let her words tumble from her mouth as she listened to Allix gush about her dream lover.

"They need curves in all the right places, and I want them to be a comfortable fit for me to hold and roll around with."

_Roll… around with…? _Skyla wondered, before her excited gaze suddenly turned sour and her eyes dropped into a deadpanned stare.

"I think tension and range is one of the most important things I look for in my bows-"

"I'm leaving," Skyla muttered, throwing her hands in the air as she walked away from the archer, an entertained smirk residing on Allix's face now.

Dante lifted the small girl clung to his waist and pulled her off of his body, walking over to the bed near the door and plopping Ciel onto its mattress, "Seriously, though, what are you two doing here? I thought I said to come over if we sent out an emergency." He asked, eyeing both Ciel and Leo.

"We got your back no matter what! We figured you might've needed help, so we came too." Ciel explained, pushing herself over so she leaned against the pillow and headrest of her bed.

"We did think a little aid might have been in order. However, as you said it yourself, we are only a last resort countermeasure. We ultimately made the decision to only step in if you truly need us." Leo explained as well.

Now that they were all in the same room, the resemblance between the three white-haired teens was incredibly similar.

It was impossible to think that they _weren't _related.

"I'm glad you two followed me here, but I don't think you're needed for our next mission." Dante informed, sitting on the corner of Ciel's bed and turning to the rest of the people in the room, "We need to put together a team for what's next."

"Wait, so were you able to…?" Ruby began to ask but trailed off instead.

Xera was the one to nod, "Zerath's fine. He's resting now. But the Dark Entity managed to escape and leave Beacon. So what we need to do now is hunt him down."

He knew how direct that sounded, but he needed to be concise. Dante's associate, that girl in the white cloak, was narrowing in on the exact location of Zeridûl's presence. Once she found him, they were going to follow that solid lead and confront him before he grew any stronger.

"Why can't we all go?" Velvet asked, eyes flicking between everyone in the room in such a way to seek agreement. She found it in most of the people there.

"Because it's going to be dangerous," Xera explained, "As cliché as that sounds, this mission isn't going to be an easy outing. You'll be facing someone far stronger than anything you've ever faced in your past, and I can't promise that all of you will get out of this unscathed. So, I'm asking you as a friend and I won't hold you to anything if you say no."

Xera slipped his hands into the pockets of his black sweatpants, lowering his gaze slightly.

"In fact, I'd prefer it if most of you _did _say no." The phoenix finished.

As much as he wanted all of their help, he didn't want to put them all in danger. It raised the chances of casualties to a number too high to even consider accepting. Someone was undoubtedly going to get hurt, and worse, lethally wounded if they all went.

Cooperation simply wasn't existent between them all right now. It was that simple. No matter how hard any of them tried, they couldn't work seamlessly enough to truly utilize any teamwork in such a big group. That takes practice and time, two things they didn't have.

They needed a small, tactical team of fighters who already work well together and actually have some amount of chemistry. They needed to build a unit of strong, capable, and teamwork-oriented combatants.

If they didn't… then someone was going to die.

"We're in." Allix's voice carried itself to the door, and next to the archer nodded Xera's partner in crime.

"We got this! We'll give them a real fight!" Skyla emphasized her words by raising her fists and moving them in vertical circles in a sarcastic and almost taunting way.

Ruby and her team had already talked it over, so she got up from her spot on her team's bed and approached Xera, "My team and I are all willing to help you if we can too. So, don't rule us out."

"Mine as well." Jaune got up after seeing Ruby stand, then stepped up to her side.

The rest… weren't so quick to agree.

And that was fine with Xera.

He knew, painfully so, that he left out the fact that this issue placed a grave risk on the world and its inhabitants. Whether it was out of selfishness, or selflessness, it didn't matter. He had a feeling he shouldn't tell them.

If he did? Then there wouldn't be a single person in this room who would say no.

He didn't want to take away their choice like that. It was reckless, and he knew it, to leap into a situation like this without much coordination.

They wouldn't see it that way.

"That's fine. You're more than what I need, since Inuba, Destiny, and Fate have also expressed their desire to help out as well. The rest of you can stay here. I don't expect you to risk your lives for someone you don't openly know." Xera commented, not bothering with seeing the unsure or apprehensive faces of the teams that didn't immediately say anything.

A soft knock soon came from the door, causing him to turn his head slightly to catch whoever it was in his peripherals.

It was Destiny, followed by the girl in white.

"Actually, there's been a slight change of plans," The wolf-faunus stated, entering the room before stepping to the side to allow the girl from before entry.

The cloaked girl addressed the room with her voice, but her eyes were directed only at the few teens that stood before her.

"Our enemy has taken refuge in a self-created rift. He has forged his own dimension and tore an entrance in the space of this world and its reality," The girl paused for a moment, turning to Xera then to Dante, "This limits us. In order for you to enter that dimension unscathed and remain there, I must be the one to keep a connection between your souls and this reality. If I do not do this, you will all be at the mercy of Zeridûl in his realm of darkness, where he has full dominant control."

Zeridûl has created a torn dimension…? Not just this, but a realm where he has full dominion over everything that takes place within its reaches. This was worse than his control of Zerath's mind. There, Zerath showed resistance to everything the entity tried to accomplish.

In this dimension, that won't be the case anymore. Zeridûl will have _full _control. He's created a world that plays by his own rules… his own thoughts… a world that responds to his own actions and demands.

He's created a fortress to build an army.

"Our numbers will be limited then with who can enter his realm," Dante concluded, "How many are you able to send in?"

"Six at most, unfortunately. I cannot sustain a number higher than that." The girl responded.

"That really does limit things…" Xera sighed softly, turning his gaze to the ones that volunteered.

How was he supposed to choose?

Ruby's fast and has a unique fighting style. She has the ability to rapidly and fluidly switch between targets and eliminate each one in quick succession. Her weapon is both long range and deadly in melee encounters, giving her a perfect balance between all ranges.

But, how effective would that be against their adversary?

Weiss has her advanced knowledge in Dust and a vast array of glyphs, alongside the possible tactical support she could provide for the rest of the team. She has intellect and has a level head, something that was needed in a fight that could possibly end in a poor decision.

Blake's quick and agile, a strong infiltrator. She can slip out of danger with ease and enter the guards of most enemies she encounters. She has decent mid-ranged combat with her ribbons and pistol, but she falls off a bit with her long-range match ups. She's perfect in case they needed stealth… but could they enter such a realm unseen?

Yang is a powerhouse and provides perfect synergy with Xera's affinity. He realized that immediately. She could bring the brawn needed to punch their way through opposition should they need her to. But, she was reckless and unpredictable at times. To add to that, Xera's never personally fought with her before.

He didn't think she'd be a safe call to make… but he wasn't the only person he needed to think about for this. Each person of this team needed some synergy with the rest of the involved parties, not just him.

Jaune has a strong tactical sense to him. He's able to think through logical and strategical plans faster and more efficient than anyone else in this room. He's a leader at heart and a strong decision maker in the heat of battle, but could he call the shots necessary under such stressful conditions? Or, would he buckle under the pressure…

Xera was beginning to realize how little he truly trusted some of the people in this room…

Nora's strong, unbelievably strong. But she is highly unpredictable and only works well with her partner, Ren. If she worked with anyone else… he could already see how terribly wrong that could go.

Ren wasn't a safe bet for this either. He's stoic and has a level mind, has incredibly fast reflexes and unbelievably agility, and he's able to predict moves before they were made and possesses senses that surpassed several others. But, he didn't have a strong damage output, nor was it consistent.

Pyrrha was a wildcard. She's capable of unobtainable feats and has the reputation to prove it. She has long-range, a very strong offensive melee capability, even stronger defense alongside that, and can turn any situation around in favor of herself or others. The issue was… she's an independent fighter. Right now, at least. She's never worked with anyone but her team… none of which looked like he would decide to bring in.

The chemistry and synergy just weren't there with her…

Xera then turned to his own team. Skyla… he knew she was a must. Her semblance, as long as he could teach her how to use it in the time they had, would be unparalleled if Zeridûl tried to make use of any more black ice. The girl in the white cloak had already informed him it was entirely possible Zeridûl would be capable of duplicating some of Zerath's abilities.

Zerath's ice affinity was likely something the entity would make his own. No one could know if it would end up being stronger than the original, though.

Allix, he knew she'd want nothing more than to tag along. Xera kicked himself for his next thoughts, but she couldn't provide the damage that they needed in this next encounter. She had her incredible accuracy and a large assortment of arrows, alongside her manipulation of Dust in such a way to create glyph-like swirling vortexes with her aura with amplification effects, but her arrows wouldn't be enough against an enemy like this.

That left Destiny and Fate. They had already fought Soul-Slasher in the past, but they haven't faced Zeridûl in this form yet. No one had. But, they had something that no one else did. They had unique fighting styles and the ability to either play the role of the support or the strong role of a powerful frontline. They had the tools needed…

They were unique. In fact, they all were. Each of them had certain strengths about them…

That was it. They needed a team with abilities and strengths all focused in different categories. They needed synergy, yes, but they needed diversity alongside that. They needed some of everything… in order to account for whatever they'd have to face in Zeridûl's torn dimension.

Ruby had her high damage at all ranges and her speed. Skyla had her direct counter to any black ice Zeridûl would try to make. Weiss had the highest potential for supporting the team with her glyphs alongside her ability to lock down high priority targets. Destiny had her summons, something that very few other huntsmen could say the same for. Fate had her strength and her armory of powerful weapons, something that brought diversity in its own regard.

Then there was Dante and himself. They've fought together side by side from the start of this confrontation. He is undoubtedly powerful. And this was his area of expertise after all. He was a priority.

That was the team. That was all they could afford.

It was all they needed.

"Ruby, Weiss, would you mind joining us? Even with the danger involved?" Xera asked, almost meekly, but as soon as he looked up a sense of relief relaxed his shoulders at the sight of the two already moving to join them near the door.

He then looked toward the members of his own team, "Skyla, I'll need to teach you a few things on the way, but would you mind-"

She had already charged across the room and engulfed him in a solid hug before he could finish his request. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at that.

"It's about time we did something as partners," Skyla commented, letting the phoenix go as she flicked his shoulder and poked his hidden feathers for a moment.

"Lastly, you two," Xera turned toward Destiny and Fate, eyes locking with Destiny's own lilac irises to speak to both souls about this matter, "Think you can-"

"No need to ask us either," Destiny held up a hand and cut the teen off, "We're in."

"Good," Xera said, nodding slowly.

Now… he just needed to explain to the rest of them why he made his decisions that way. Especially Blake, since she was looking particularly peeved right now.

For good reason, too.

He's never been one to hold back whenever sharing his thoughts with someone. They were always sound, and more times than not, easily understood. In cases like this, though… being tactful was better than being brutally truthful.

Tact wasn't going to make this any easier, though.

In any case, he managed to convince the rest of the logic behind his choices. And, begrudgingly or not, they understood his intentions.

This mission wasn't going to be an easy one. Building a team like this required careful planning and a high necessity for specialization in certain categories. His decision to bring in those specific people resolved that prerequisite and several more.

They couldn't fault him for that.

Xera still owed Blake something after this was over. She said she had a request, but she didn't say what it was. The phoenix didn't exactly know how to think about that… she made it sound like something else entirely.

* * *

"That duo kicked your ass, Niro." A teen in black sat on a cliff's edge. He wore a cotton jacket with equally onyx fur trim around its collar. Down the back of his jacket lay two long, parallel, open slits that disappeared in the dark folds of his attire. The material was thin and dark, leading down to just past his thighs at the back. His legs were clad in a pair of baggy sweatpants, finishing his black set up with a pair of running sneakers.

He was 5'7, built more for mobility and endurance than durability and strength.

The colors were needed for his line of work and they interacted seamlessly with his semblance. Far beneath him, a sea of green leaves bristled and flowed, the cool sun bearing down on the world below as he felt a cold wind sift through his shaggy black hair. His strands reached his ears and gave him a ragged, rough, yet clean look, each lock of hair tipped in a bright gold.

In his hands, he held a large, delicately crafted, ebony rifle. Customized in more ways than seven, it was a sniper rifle built entirely from scratch.

Heavy steps came up behind him then stopped at his side, before the one from before took a seat beside his assigned partner, "Like hell they did. What were you doing? Staring at the girl's thighs through your scope?"

"Maybe," Reflective, rebellious golden eyes glanced toward Niro beneath dark swaying bangs, "You can't blame me. But that's beside the point. You looked like you had it handled."

"She's too young, idiot." The one who just took a seat adjusted his cowboy hat momentarily, securing it against his head as a strong breeze rode up the outcrop beneath their dangling feet, "Your judgment calls are as bad as your ideas for entertainment."

"What? You don't find it fun to try and toss lien coins into a vending machine from across the room?"

"The last time you challenged me to that task, I beat you."

"That's because you went first and decided to throw the coin with enough force to not only send the coin _through_ the target slot but through the wall behind it too. I think you broke that vending machine beyond salvaging as well."

"Machines like that deserve to be destroyed."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" The teen on the left set his rifle at his side before pulling out a black scroll, "Think our employer is the kind of person to want to remain up to date with everything we do? Or do you think he's the kind of person to just assume and wait until the end results…?"

"I wouldn't bother, Kyzal." Niro spoke in disinterest, resting his chin in his gloved palm as he looked out over the Emerald Forest beneath them, "He'll get what he paid for."

"He's paying us a fortune," Kyzal noted with a relaxed grin.

"Exactly," Niro replied, retaining the same tone as before.

In the distance stood the immaculate structure of Beacon Academy, the school towered high over the cliff sides that fell off on the edges of its campus. Their target was within those very walls. And if their job demanded they infiltrate the school, then so be it.

* * *

**Alright, alright, I know what most of you are thinking- "NOO GOD! NO. GOD. PLEASE. NO. NO! NO! NOOOOOO!"**

**And to that, I have to say… two Skyla's won't be that bad *says calmly as the city of Vale burns solemnly in the background*. No, not at all. This is an excellent decision.**

**I regret nothing.**

**Seriously, though, that was a lot of characters shoved into a single chapter. Four new characters, two of which are from andy's new sequel he's released for Hero of Remnant. Ciel and Leo (Leonard) are Dante's brother and sister (who are in fact twins) from his own story. He requested I bring them in, so I figured this was a nice spot to do so.**

**That sequel being "Hero of Remnant: Veil of the Aether". If you can, then I implore you to check it out. You might just see my own characters in it *says with confidence and wishes for this to be true*.**

**Which I'm excited to eventually see.**

**Also, it occurred to me that none of you have caught on to Eostryder's name yet. He was the timeless Black Knight, first knight of the Requiem of Black Inquisition, with the nickname of Eo that Dante and Xera faced before reaching the peak of Zeridûl's mountain.**

**Did you know his name translates to "Destroyer" if you unscramble the letters? Did you notice they were scrambled in the first place?**

**If not, then I'm glad that I masked that well behind a legitimately sounding, or just cool looking, name for an enemy.**

**I'll take pride in that, and maybe a cookie too.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	71. The Fox and the Immortal

**I felt some sweeter chapters would set a nice leisurely pace before the big jump. It'd be reckless to just rush in with little awareness.**

**Warning: Fluffiness ahead.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 71: The Fox and the Immortal

**Xera's POV**

Charred and brittle, it really wasn't anything more than a hard drive now. Just a salvageable memory unit with no other uses…

I should be able to save my music.

My scroll was nearly incinerated when I released all my pent up fire in Krono Desert. In fact, if it hadn't been in my pocket I'm sure it would've been completely destroyed. The fire-treated metal I used on it didn't seem to be enough to ward off all the heat I put it through.

I need to think of a better way to protect my equipment. My sword and clothes were perfectly protected, but that was solely because I imbued each of those with an alloy of my own aura and flame Dust. To add onto that, there is the Hot Aura Fusion forging process I put Annivia's Talons through upon their creation.

Something foreign to the people of the world… except for a select few individuals.

The scroll wasn't pristine anymore, just rough and callous in my hands as I turned the flaky object around, ash having already been brush off earlier. Its outer case was easy enough to pry off, the warping wasn't too bad with that, and I delicately pulled it apart piece by piece.

I didn't need to salvage anything but the main memory unit.

The proxy projector for the screen was as good as gone. I wasn't expecting it to last. I skipped past the circuitry of the small motherboard and simply lifted it from its melted connectors before gaining unrestricted access to what I was looking for.

It was mostly intact.

Good.

It didn't seem to be damaged. It was the most protected piece of the scroll, meaning I only had to give it a quick clean and it was good as new. But that wasn't good enough. I brought up a second scroll, fully black and yet to be customized, and opened that up too.

We had time. Zeridûl wasn't going to do anything but begin the creation of his dimension for now. The girl, in the white cloak, Dante's associate, she said there was little we could do until the dimension stabilized. We couldn't even approach it due to the fluctuating energy fields it exuded to energize the atmosphere around it.

It was our time to rest while we waited. We should wait at least a day, at most two, before we ventured out with our elite team to enter the dimension.

It wasn't smart to gun it recklessly this time either. Dante and I ventured into Zerath's mind mostly blind, usually a foolish decision for those who happened to favor living over dying. But we did it anyway.

And it worked out.

I'm not going to do the same with four other lives on my hands. One of them equating to two if you double counted Destiny and Fate. I wasn't going to put them in danger like that.

Well, not any more danger than they've already volunteered for.

I unclipped the memory unit of my new scroll out, which looked to be an upgrade from the previous. I guess I had Ashton to thank for that. He claimed to be the benefactor of this new scroll, so I wondered just how much tech he's developed in his time. He singlehandedly designed Aero Coliseum, after all. I set that memory unit down and brought my old one next to it, hardwired a connection, then transferred all data over.

It didn't take more than twenty-six seconds.

Another ten were spent putting everything back together into the new, or rather, my new scroll. It looked nice, sleeker than normal too, and far more advanced than my previous. If my guesses were right, most of it was new tech from what I recognized in the interior.

I looked up for a moment, noticing a few drops of rain cascade down into one of the dry forges. I quickly got up and closed the patches automatically with the settings at the end of my workstation, locking down those forges for the night.

It was raining. I wonder if a storm was brewing.

I made my way back over to my scroll and sat down again.

"Let's see if you're still there…" I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. I was alone in the forge room as it was.

The few words I spoke echoed softly in the quiet chamber, the tall reinforced walls and towering forges were enough to bounce the syllables around like a little game of catch and release. They rattled around as the sound of rain began to pick up.

It was all so familiar. I spend most of my free time in here developing new concepts for the side projects I work on.

Not all of them are for my own uses.

A faint purple glow emanated from the dark screen of my scroll as soon as I opened it, flashing dully at first before the whole screen blazed to life and began a cascade of fluctuating lines of energized purple rain.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to accessing the information you stole, Xera." It spoke- well, _she_ spoke actually.

Karazil, if I remember correctly, the artificial intelligence we encountered at the facility we infiltrated, where we found the time log for Zerath, and the sleeping kitsune in the infirmary, "I suppose it was just about time to look into it. She's about to wake up, from what Inuba says."

"Oh? So she's still alive." Karazil fluttered in tone, a hint of gladness in her voice.

I wondered if it was real.

"Yeah," I replied, leaning back in my seat and setting aside a couple of my tools. This was… weird. Talking to my scroll like this. But I gave her permission to use my scroll as a temporary home while her previous network was demolished. I didn't blame her for at least asking, and I would've felt bad if I denied her at least the opportunity to continue to exist, "She's alive. I managed to revive her systems at the facility before we brought her back."

"Hmm, I don't remember much after you fell from the sky. I went into stasis before you hit the ground." Karazil spoke lightly, hesitantly almost. She didn't sound like Cortana anymore, she sounded like someone else.

"Probably because the scroll got burned beyond salvation," I said, brushing off the remains of my scrapped scroll into a waste bin beneath the workstation.

"Oh, pity. I am sorry for your loss, I didn't know." Karazil's colors dulled for a moment, each word not nearly flashing as brightly as before.

It was a way to display emotion. It kinda fit well, for her.

"No worries, I transferred its soul into a new body. So, it's basically been resurrected." I turned my black scroll around in my hand, wondering if Karazil could see out of it or if she could even register the surroundings around her.

"Resurrected? Like a phoenix? Or, reincarnation?" She asked.

"Like a phoenix." I said with a smile, probably something I shouldn't have been smiling to though, "Karazil, I know you probably have already tried connecting to the wireless connection of the scroll tower through Beacon's receivers by now, but I sorta blocked you out."

"I've noticed," She spoke with a mild flash of purple, "But it is to be expected. You have yet to trust me."

"Well, you _were _kind of… evil? Actually, more contained into evil methods. I don't believe you're truly against the wishes of humanity." I said, tossing the scroll into the air before catching it, only sending it through a few spins.

"P-please stop throwing me like that," Karazil muttered in an apprehensive, or hesitant, voice.

So she has some awareness of her surroundings.

"Sorry, I like to toss things around sometimes when my nerves get to me," I admitted with a meek smile, for no one in particular.

"Why are your nerves getting to you?" Karazil asked, sounding curious. Or, was it concerned. She did a little of both, and it was toned quite well.

Could an AI… really show emotion? Have we developed far enough to do such a thing? I've heard of stories, some even from Ruby, of some AI's existing to be capable of emotion. I guess this was one of the prototypes.

Maybe I can upgrade her.

"Something… happened." I said with a pause, resting Karazil on the table while I got up. I wasn't expecting the camera on my scroll to flash with a purple light, or the pale line of color to pass over me like some sort of shining scanner.

"You are unhurt, perfectly healthy, and only slightly deprived of aura. You are otherwise fine." She listed off. I didn't feel violated, but I did feel uneasy about what else she took in from that scan. Was it a bio scan too?

"I didn't say it was anything in regards to me," I replied, shaking my hair a little out of my face from how messy it was right now. I picked up the nearest golden orb on the work station's surface, something I was working on before everything started going south.

Well, west actually.

"I will say this, there is a kink in your wing you should get looked at." Her comment had me giving my illuminated scroll a sharp gaze.

_So it was partially bio too… that scan…_

"Might I request Blake taking a look at it? She seems to be your relation of importance, given your messages." And she's already gone through my messages. I guess nothing's off limits anymore, "She has some skill in the medical field given her background. Self-applied as well."

"I'll look into it," I replied quietly, suddenly, "Thanks."

"It is my pleasure, Xera."

Creepy. Don't make it your pleasure.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with?" She asked, flashing me with a lighter tone.

When did she want to start helping me? I thought this was a mutual agreement for transportation and temporary protection…

"Yes, actually," She politely waited for me to say something, "What are you doing? I wasn't aware of any agreement between us for, uh… assistance of any sort. We didn't talk at all, actually."

"Oh, right. Forgive me," Karazil quickly realized what I was getting at, "I am aware of our verbal contract. However, I would like to extend to you a reiteration of its agreement. Perhaps it will be beneficial to the both of us if you agree."

"I'm listening." At least, I think I was. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. The golden orb I held in my fingers flicked into the air, spun for a moment in gravitational limbo, before falling back into my grasp. It was about the size of a pool ball, and it was made of titanium alloy painted gold.

"I am of little purpose at the moment. I do not have an end goal nor a protocol in my directory, excluding my mission to protect the information contained in this scroll. I believe that task has been accomplished on a satisfactory level. Which leads me to this, would you mind, terribly, if I asked you to give me purpose?" Karazil ended in a meek tone, something I knew I did whenever I finished a sentence a bit nervously, or unsurely.

She wants to help, in some way… "What brought the change of heart on?" Her personality was different, very different than what she displayed at the facility.

"I simply had time to think about the true purpose behind my creation. I was never meant to last, yet, here I am. My morality was decided for me at birth, but since my transfer into your scroll, I've gone through a full-system reboot." She reset herself… "I would like to help you in any way I can, and in return, I would like to continue to feel useful."

She really hated feeling useless, pointless, purposeless… didn't she…

"It's a nice feeling, isn't it?" I asked, tossing the sphere into the air once more out of habit.

"Yes, it is."

I caught the sphere in my palm with a soft pat then made my way over to my scroll again, "I accept. But we need to agree on a few guidelines."

"What do you ask of me?"

"No looking at my messages," I said without really recognizing what her response was. I just wanted to get that out there.

"But they are quite cute interactions, though. I find them rather intriguing."

"T-that doesn't matter," I slipped up on my words for a moment and placed the orb on the table, "You don't need to look into those."

Karazil waited a few seconds, they were painstaking, before answering, "So be it. Is there anything else?"

I was starting to wonder if she was really going to avoid my messages with my girlfriend.

* * *

The rain was still coming down outside.

Karazil gave me a rundown on what she was capable of through my scroll. And, to be honest, I was impressed with how much she had access to as soon as I unlocked her. She wasn't just a talking search engine. She was so much more than that.

I guess I needed to test her later. For now, I made sure to monitor her traffic just in case she was doing anything under wraps.

She wasn't.

I turned the next corner and made my way down that hallway. There weren't any students, Ozpin locked down this wing of the school to avoid anything unnecessary. Infirmary rooms passed me by as I made my way forward, and it wasn't long before I noticed a figure in the distance pressed against a door trying to peer inside the room.

"Dante?" I asked.

He didn't respond to his name being called. He was muttering to himself, almost berating himself or feeling some amount of… depression? I swear, there was a black storm hovering over his head.

"Uh, you okay?"

The white-haired teen finally looked up and his bright sky blue eyes looked as troubled as ever, "What did I do…? She… she hates me…" He said sniffling.

"She… hates you?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah… She saw me and screamed… Well, not really screamed but she-" He opened his mouth wide to imitate a silent scream, "did that, so I assumed she was screaming…"

"Why did she scream when she saw you?"

"Inuba sent me a text on my scroll saying she very likely saw me Shadow Skinned…" said the white haired teen referring to his alternate form.

"Did you use your Shadow Skin?"

"That's the thing, no! She has to be some sort of Seer if she could see it without me using it… But that's not important! What is important, is that she is terrified of me and that makes me very sad!"

You really do get degraded when you meet someone who doesn't like you…

"She'll come around eventually. You're a nice guy. She'll see you as you actually are at some point instead of… Mr. scary demon." We were outside the kitsune's infirmary door, the one I could only assume freaked out at the sight of him.

Why was it that she could see his Shadow Skin form, though? Was she a Seer like Dante just said?

I didn't ask.

Dante stepped aside as I opened the door, just a crack, and there was a startled movement on the other side as I pushed it in further. A pair of golden-orange eyes peaked over the ridge of a raised blanket at the doorway, two fox-ears folded flatly against that person's head as she huddled back against the pillow of her bed.

A look of genuine relief crossed her face as she dropped her defensive blanket.

Dante took that moment to peek inside.

The girl practically jumped, yanking her blanket up again and this time diving beneath its cover like a fox seeking shelter from the rain.

"Dante! I told you to stay outside for now. I know it's difficult for you, but you scare her right now. And it would be in everyone's best interest to remain in the hallway." I turned and saw Inuba sitting beside the girl's bed, eyes trained on Dante now.

"Everyone's best interest…" Dante muttered slowly, "Okay. Sure, yeah. I'll stay out here… By myself… Crying…"

I watched as he pushed himself away from the doorframe and slid slowly to the floor, pulling his knees in toward his chest before rocking slowly against the wall.

Poor guy.

I closed the door behind me and forgot about him.

"I'm sorry, Xera. Dante…" Inuba paused for a moment, tilting her head to find the right words, "He gets like that sometimes when situations like this arise."

I slowly nodded my head, "It's understandable. I'd do that too if someone was afraid of me for some reason. You said she saw his Shadow Skin when he didn't even use it?"

"Yes, but…I have a slight concern about that…"

"What do you mean?"

"I showed her a picture of him in his Shadow Skin." Said Inuba bringing up her holographic scroll to show me a picture of Dante in his Shadow Skin using a peace sign.

"Huh… So what's the concern?"

"Well…when I asked her what she saw and showed her this picture, she said it didn't look exactly like that, but…"

She paused for a moment, as if she were having trouble. Or rather, as if she were trying to make sense of something.

"She said the general form was the same but…it looked very different. More sinister…"

More sinister than it already was? I sifted through some memories, seeing Dante's first version of his Shadow Skin and then the memory of that thing, that Shadow standing beside him. The Shadow looked exactly the same as the recent picture Inuba just showed me of Dante using his Shadow Skin. But what exactly did the younger kitsune see that we didn't? More importantly, did Dante know anything of it?

The lump on the bed began to move, and before long, two white fox ears poked out of one of the folds and I saw the girl's eyes once again. She regarded me with a curious gaze, probably wondering who I was, as I turned back to Inuba.

"Mind if I talk to her for a bit?" I asked. The elder kitsune nodded her head and got up from her chair, standing by the door now as I walked up to the girl on the bed.

She didn't shy away from me.

I figured eye contact would just make her uncomfortable, so I just sat on the corner of her bed and leaned back, lying across the foot of it as I stared at the ceiling. I had that golden orb from earlier with me, so I took it out of my pocket and tossed it upward.

It nearly hit the ceiling before coming back down. I played a little game then, seeing how close I could get it to the ceiling without touching it.

Whether it was out of curiosity, or out of confusion, I felt the bed shift and the young kitsune, sixteen years of age from what I remember, came out of hiding.

She slowly slipped out of the bundle of a blanket she coiled around herself and sat back, drawing in her knees and pulling them against her noticeably average, or, slightly less than average chest. In any case, she was a combination of petite and developed. But more on the petite side.

Her heritage probably was the cause of that, since she needed to develop into an attractive force to be reckoned with.

In any case, she slowly wrapped her arms around her knees before her three tails curled around her feet.

She wasn't in that skin tight black suit anymore. Instead, maybe it was Inuba, someone got her a change of clothes for now. She wore a pair of short-shorts, maybe it was all that fit her currently, and a large thin sweater. Her feet, for the moment I saw them out of the corner of my eye, were clad in thin ankle-length white socks. The shorts were black, by contrary of color, and the sweater was light blue.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but do you remember your name?" I asked, continuing my game of throw and catch as I let the girl do what she needed to get comfy.

My goal wasn't to make her feel uncomfortable.

I caught my sphere and turned my head slightly toward her, she shook her head negatively.

Her file said she was a mute. Maybe it was right.

"Would you like to know?" I asked softly. Her eyes widened for a moment, eyes flicking over to Inuba before the small girl softly nodded her head and dipped her chin behind her knees. Like she was afraid of what happened next but needed to do it for her own sake.

I didn't blame her.

My game continued as I turned my attention back to my ball, "Your name is Kitsuki Aeolus. You're sixteen, a pure-blood kitsune, and hail from Mistral. You were born with three tails as opposed to one, and like me, you're an affinity user."

I spoke my words carefully, gently, with the soft smack of my ball impacting my hand sounding out consecutively, dully, with a pattern.

It was like a gently ticking clock, just something for her to listen to while I spoke. Another way to make her feel more at ease with me.

It was working.

"Your element is to be determined, but…" I paused long enough to catch my metal sphere, "I have my guesses."

I turned my gaze toward her now, and she was still regarding me with a perplexed stare over the pale reaches of her legs. Half of them were covered at the front by her frost white fox tails, and I couldn't help but notice the fact that her fur had the shimmer you'd see on silk or velvet cloth.

It was undoubtedly soft, but I convinced myself touching it was a bad idea.

What surprised me was that she reached her hands in front of herself and made a few shapes with her fingers, configuring them in different ways in fluid and quick patterns.

She was using sign language.

"_What's your name?" _She asked with an intrigued expression.

I wasn't expecting that.

"My name's Xera," I said simply, tossing my ball into the air again, "I'm from outside of Vale, I won't say where specifically. I spent most of my life on the streets with my brother, we worked well together. Our mother insisted we pay for our necessities, but we all knew that wasn't possible with the current market."

The golden ball tapped the ceiling this time, and I grimaced slightly at the fact I accidentally hit the roof there.

"We got by, albeit barely. Most of my parkour training was done in my earlier years, and I've kept up with it since. My fighting style revolves around it. And, like I hinted at before, I can create and manipulate the element of fire." I said just enough to confide in her some information from my past, but kept most of it unsaid, "We'll figure out what yours is in time."

She slowly nodded her head, brushing her delicate fingers through the fur of her tails in front of her as she looked at me in thought. Was she trying to think of more questions?

"_It was you, wasn't it?" _Kitsuki signed out, glancing back up to me now on the foot of her bed, _"You brought me here."_

How did she…? I turned toward Inuba, and she gently shook her head with a shrug of the shoulders, "I have only been teaching her sign language. I haven't divulged any information to her aside from educational purposes. She's quite the fast learner, fastest I've seen. She hardly needs to try something once before she perfects it."

I nodded my head to the information, then softly turned it back to the girl against the headrest.

"I guess I am. I managed to get you out of that facility unharmed. Is that alright?" I asked, almost as if it were seeking some sort of permission or acceptance for the action already done.

She quickly nodded her head, _"More than alright. I was wondering who to thank for that."_

"Hmm, I wouldn't bother. I'm not really big with thanks and stuff." I said, tossing the ball up once again and letting it land in my cradling fingers, just holding it loosely there before tossing it up again.

"_I would still like to thank you." _The girl signed to me before I caught my next throw, _"So, thank you. Xera."_

I hummed with a slight nod, before on my next catch, I whipped the titanium-alloy sphere in her direction. It was aimed at the white wall behind her, just above the top rail of the headrest… and just left of her human ear.

She caught it.

Her hand shot up before her eyes could even trace the trajectory of the orb, catching the throw solidly in her own pale hand, smaller than my own, but with no less ease than what I was showing. She caught it effortlessly. And I watched as her eyes trailed down to the solid metal ball in her hand, staring at in in confusion, before she tossed it back to me.

I caught it on the return trip.

So, just like that, we started playing catch. I tossed her the ball, softer this time, and she'd toss it back. She'd replicate each throw I made, matching it perfectly, never developing her own technique or throwing it in a certain way she hasn't seen yet.

We were both sitting up at that point.

Her reaction timing was high, very high, but it relied on instinctive cognition rather than mental stimulus. She was trained. She was trained in some form of combat before she lost her memories.

Her body remembers what it's capable of.

That's what I came here to find out.

I caught the ball on the next return trip and held it, confusing her for a moment as the game stalled, and I turned it in my hand, "You see this panel on here?" I asked, holding it up for her to see. There was a circular panel on the surface I turned to her.

She leaned forward and peered down at it, tucking a strand of white hair behind her ear as she did so before nodding her head, _"I noticed it earlier. What is it?"_

A light smile crossed my lips, "Watch this."

I pressed the panel and let it push inward. There was a shallow pop, like a seal being released, before the ball in my hand began to hum softly. I then tossed it to the side and across the room, toward the wall adjacent to the bed, and let the golden orb strike the surface there.

What should've been a loud thunk and a heavy crash turned into just a soft pop and a small blast of air, before the sphere bounced off the wall. I caught it and did it again, this time letting it bounce off the floor, into the wall, then back to my hand.

"Its surface is littered with small pistons in between slits in the orb's curvature." I demonstrated that last part by twisting the surface of the orb and revealing twelve openings running parallel to each other down its surface, each ending at two opposition points on the sphere, "Inside can be primed a volatile Dust crystal that can be discharged several times upon impact. The pistons are just to keep the ball moving."

Kitsuki nodded, then accepted the ball into her grasp when I offered it to her. She fiddled with it, closing and opening the grooves along its surface, before closing them again and clicking the panel I pressed earlier. The humming stopped, before starting up again when she clicked it again.

She then tossed it, just like I did, and caught it in the same manner I did.

She wasn't just a good learner. She was a replicator, a perfect one at that. But, that wasn't anything regarding her semblance or any ability.

That was just who she was.

"I call it Scillix Crush. It's a dustrophobic explosive hackie sack." I said with an amused grin, "It's designed for someone who's really good at kicking with precision and timing."

Kitsuki caught the ball one more time before turning it off and handing it back to me, _"How does the person kick it without causing what's inside to go off?"_

"The user will also be equipped with a remote control on their wrist that stays connected to as many spheres as the person feels comfortable wielding. As each one individually leaves the proximity of the bracelet, they become live," I explained, "Which means they only detonate upon impact outside of a set radius."

She seemed to understand, which meant she wasn't one to be easily confused. I wondered just how smart this girl really was… if her memories were completely intact.

Inuba said she's been teaching her some things, which builds onto the fact that she really doesn't recall anything from before.

I wonder if she's willing to keep doing that, for Kitsuki's sake.

I slid off the bed and stood at its side, turning to Inuba at the doorway, "Inuba, while we're away, would you mind continuing to teach Kitsuki anything you can while you have time?"

Inuba glanced around me once and gave the both of us a pleasant smile, "Of course. I would be honored to be Kitsuki's teacher."

"Thanks, that mean a lo-" My pitch escalated as my words stopped. What the…? I felt something press into the feathers covering my back and I quickly looked over my shoulder.

When did she get in there?! She didn't make any noise, at all, there should've been noise! Why wasn't there noise?!

Kitsuki had her head in my sweatshirt and was poking around my feathers, gently running through their layers softly with her own tentative hands.

She got in there… without me noticing…?

"U-uh, Kitsuki?" I asked, my face dipping slightly into the red zone, "W-what are you doing?"

Two protrusions against the back of my sweatshirt, sticking up above her head, seemed to fold slightly as Kitsuki slowly slipped her head out of the confines of my clothing and she bowed it meekly, _"Sorry, I just wanted to see your wings."_

I bit my lip and glanced at Inuba. Again, she shook her head no. She didn't tell her. I looked back and sat down in front of her, "How did you know I had wings?" I asked, treading this conversation with much more care and gentleness than I did with any of the previous ones.

Kitsuki looked up slowly and met my eyes, giving me a confused stare, _"You're a phoenix, aren't you? I just wanted to see how soft your wings are."_

"You…" I started, trailing off as I ran through her words again, "You knew I was a phoenix?"

She nodded.

"How?" I asked. How did she know?

"_You're eyes," _She signed out, pointing to my irises as she gave me a tiny smile, _"They told me."_

I was both at a loss of words and at a realization of something I completely forgot about. Right, my eyes change colors to match my emotions. But, how would she have known that's what a phoenix's body was capable of?

How did she know that was a property of my race?

"Did anyone tell you?" I asked.

She shook her head no.

"_I just knew," _Kitsuki signed out before she reached out with a quick hand and ruffled my hair. I was suddenly glad I grabbed a shower before going to the forge room today, _"Your hair is as soft as your feathers…"_

I was beginning to realize that Kitsuki really liked soft things.

"Thanks?" I said, before thinking of one more thing to test with the girl in front of me, "Hey, have you listened to music yet?"

Her ears perked up but her eyes told me it was all just confusion, _"Music?"_

"Mhmm." I hummed as I pulled out my new scroll and loaded up my Starset playlist. I set it to shuffle and ejected a thin set of earbuds out of the edge of its equally thin casement, "Here, hold still, I'll be gentle. And, one more thing," I stopped just shy of her ears and she gave me an inquisitive glance, "Don't freak out."

I then nestled the earbuds softly in her human ears and sat back. Very slowly, her golden-orange eyes began to widen and I watched as she clutched the fur of her tails softly between her pale fingers.

My eyes then glanced up to her head, and an amused smile quickly swept its way across my lips. _That's adorable…_

Her fox ears were slowly rising. The two fluffy appendages started low, but as they rose, they dipped and they bent in intervals as they slowly got higher and higher with each peak they reached. And, as she reached a point in the song I soon recognized, both ears began to vibrate and completely perk up atop her head.

They vibrated like that, tensely accelerating in violent shaking before at the moment the music in her ears hit a drop in the beat, they slammed downward and began moving up and down to the beat of the song. Slamming down and perking up to each elevation I could faintly hear from the earbuds in her ears.

"Alright! That's it!" I heard a muffled call from outside, "I'm coming in!"

Dante's voice was barely muffled by the wall between us and the hallway before the door quickly slid open and Dante stormed in. Tears were streaming down his face in an overemphasis of self-loathing.

"I am going to prove to this girl that I am _not _The Devil! That I'm just a nice guy unfortunate enough to look mean and scary when I use that and that I-" He stopped, pausing as his mouth fell open, "That I-I… I-" Dante's eyes watched as Kitsuki's fox ears danced and her head bobbed up and down, eyes closed and listening to the beat.

There was a dull thud and a small squeak from Inuba, and I turned around again to see Dante on the floor, skin running cold.

"Did… he just…?" I trailed off, glancing to Inuba as she slipped down to her knees at her master's side and nudged him with careful fingers, she then checked his pulse.

"Oh my… His heart stopped…" She said quickly, rolling the teen over and pressing her own fox ear to his chest, "It's not beating. He's dead."

"Dead?! I thought he was immortal?"

I didn't even know the guy could die!

"No no, it's fine." Inuba quickly stated, trying to reassure anyone listening with the light tone of her voice, "This happens from time to time. He's died before, but he comes back immediately afterward. In the worst case scenarios, he remains dead for several minutes. Those are usually the cases where he sustains immense damage to both the soul and the body."

I nodded slowly, "Okay… so, he'll be fine?"

"Yes, he will be fine. At least, in five minutes he will be."

I guess Dante had a weakness to cuteness. I don't think I've seen anyone else die to the sight of something so adorable.

There was a sudden thumping of someone running in the hallway, and I quickly looked up from Dante's dead body to the open doorway. Ciel skidded past on her boots before reappearing again after gaining her balance.

She probably felt the presence of her brother die-

She stepped over Dante's body like it wasn't even there and shot up to the foot of the bed Kitsuki and I sat on, the girl still rocking out with her ears, "Oh my god! I knew my cuteness senses were tingling!" Ciel squealed, clasping her hands together in excitement.

Another rush of steps came from outside and I turned again to see Skyla tumble by like an awkward ninja, before she pulled herself back to the doorway and jumped to her feet, "Ciel, why'd you take off like that?! All you said was you felt tingly all of a sudden-"

"Skyla! Look at this!" Ciel pointed at Kitsuki like she was the last cookie on the planet, and it had just finished baking in a hot oven, "Gaze upon and praise the cuteness!"

"Awwww~" Skyla jumped over Dante's cold, dead corpse and landed just past him, skipping over to Ciel's side and smushing cheeks with her, gazing at Kitsuki with twin eyes of adoration.

This was getting out of hand.

It didn't take long before Ciel scampered onto the bed, and before Kitsuki could react, the poor girl was pulled into the younger sister's arms and cuddled into her embrace. Skyla quickly scrambled over to the other side of the kitsune and did the same.

"Okay, yeah, definitely getting out of hand," I said, catching a very confused and awkward look of help from Kitsuki. She was protecting her tails as the two beside her cooed at the sight of her large furry ears.

I could only give her an apologetic smile.

"It's alright, they just like cute things. They won't hurt you," The young kitsune gave me a questioning grimace as if asking if I was sure of myself, "I promise they won't do anything harmful to you."

Ciel and Skyla suddenly both reached up and lightly touched Kitsuki's fox ears, and I watched as a strong shiver ran down Kitsuki's spine and to the tips of her tails.

"Though, I didn't say anything about, uh… ear massages. My bad." I said, feeling apologetic about all this. I knew it was going to border on the blissful levels of heaven for Kitsuki though if Blake was any proof of that. And, as Ciel and Skyla gently rubbed the girl's fox ears, I watched as golden-orange eyes slowly began to close and her small mouth gradually fell slightly open.

Her tongue was partially lulling out of her mouth within the next thirty seconds.

"She's so cute!" Ciel squealed, but I was glad she kept her voice softer this time. Skyla agreed full-heartedly in an equally soft voice.

"Her name's Kitsuki if either of you were wondering," I informed, but I don't think either of them heard me. They were all in their own little world right now.

Especially the fox-yōkai between them.

It wasn't long before Inuba dragged her master to the side of the room and made a makeshift bed from three chairs she soon carried over as well. She then grabbed a fourth to sit in between him and Kitsuki.

The dull sound of rain tapping against the window filled the room as Dante remained dead for another few seconds until his body stood straight up like an undead creature sitting up suddenly from a coffin in a horror film.

"That…was adorable!"

* * *

On my way back from Kitsuki's infirmary room, I passed Yang leaning against the wall next to an open and empty singular room. Her head was low, but as soon as she saw me coming, she lifted her chin and turned to me.

Blocking whatever direction she thought I was headed.

"We need to talk." Her voice wasn't the peppy kind, neither was her gaze.

She was serious.

"Sure," I said, watching as she turned and walked into the room she probably opened. I made my way inside and walked further in, letting her shut the door behind us.

She remained silent, just keeping quiet for now as she let go of the doorknob and moved over to the bed, sitting on its edge.

She finally said something after a minute of silence went by.

"Why Ruby?" Her voice was softer than usual, and I felt a lasting hint of concern in her tone.

"Are you asking why I chose her for a dangerous mission?" I asked, deciding to spend my small moment of free movement to lean against the wall near the door, directly across from Yang.

"Yes."

"We needed someone with high accuracy at long ranges." I started, revealing the fact that none of the people I chose actually had such an aptitude on the level Ruby excelled at, "We needed her speed, her fast reactions, her mechanical skill with a scythe. Our opponent will be expecting us to work as a unit, I'm not expecting us to be that organized yet."

"You don't think anyone's going to be able to work together?" Yang asked, a hint of shock and confusion crossing her features.

"Yeah," I admitted. It was naïve to think all of our vastly different skills would have any synergy at all, "That's the other reason why I chose your little sister. Weiss is going with her. Her glyphs alone give the entire raid party a large assortment of tactical support and buffs. She was of high priority. Bringing Ruby in was necessary for her own aptitude, but it was also because she already has cooperation with the heiress."

Yang nodded slowly, "So they'd have each other's back."

I nodded again, "Trust comes with time. Time isn't something we have right now."

"Yeah… yeah, I can vouch for that." The blonde replied.

"I know she isn't as experienced as the rest of us with all this, but I know what she's capable of. I don't know if she talks about it a lot, but we spend a lot of time together in the forge room. We build a lot together and solve several problems that can arise."

"Actually, she does talk about that a lot. She's kinda a weapons nut." Yang tilted her head with a small laugh. At least the tension was subsiding.

"Well, then you should know that I made my decision not only based on skill or potential but because I'm her friend as well. I know her. And I know she can do this." I explained, emphasizing my trust in the girl to hold her own.

Yang let out a breath I just realized she was holding, letting it pass as she cast her gaze to the side, "I get it." She paused, bringing her eyes back to meet mine, "I'm sorry for questioning you."

"Don't worry about it. I'd question me too if I could. Actually, I still do that," I admitted, resting my head back on the wall behind me, "Even now."

"You shouldn't, you're a good leader." I heard Yang stand up and listened to her cross her arms, "It's natural to question yourself, but don't doubt yourself. You make good decisions."

"So I've been told," I replied with a sigh, "Where is Ruby, anyway?"

"She's with Weiss, Skyla, and Destiny. They're all back in the lounge talking to that girl in the white cloak about what to expect in the coming fight."

"Hmm, good. They'll know what they're up against then."

I didn't see her smile turn mischievous.

"Now, let's get down to business," I heard the cracking of knuckles before I looked down and saw Yang walking closer, "Lose the shirt."

"No," I replied quickly, trying to ignore the reddening of my cheeks.

"Oh, come on! Not even a little peek?" She asked. She didn't stop walking so I kited her around the room, dodging and avoiding her for now.

"Ask Blake," I said simply, letting the redness in my cheeks subside.

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Yang held up her hands, pausing there for a moment before fixing me with a harsh glance, "Wait."

I got her to stop trying to take my clothes off with a small comment. But now, she was intensely curious about what actually happened in regards to what I was talking about.

So, I waited.

"Let me get this straight," She affirmed, trying to sound sure of herself in the empty infirmary room she initially dragged me into, "Dante is unkillable. He is a monster on the battlefield literally and in terms of skill. He's capable of tearing colossal foes limb from limb, rip them in half, cleave through an armada of grimm of _all _kinds, slay beasts thirty times his size, and even survive the force of an atomic bomb… nine times…"

I nodded, "That is correct."

"Has he died before?" She asked.

"Only momentarily in the most excruciating of circumstances. His body, soul, and even mind need to be greatly damaged for him to even die for a few minutes."

"How long was he out for?"

"Five minutes."

There was a long pause from the girl in front of me, "Dante, the guy I wanted to fight oh so badly in the tournament, _that _Dante? The immortal? The one that _can't _die?" Yang asked further.

"Yes."

"And, you're telling me…" Yang slowly lowered her hands, her lilac eyes narrowing, "That he just died," She paused, "To adorableness…"

"Pretty much."

"I… I need to go punch some walls…" Yang muttered, breath leaving her as she slowly walked to the other side of the room. I thought she was joking…

Until the wall cracked.

* * *

**Third Person**

The rain was starting to come down harder now, rapping against the window as the two teens stared at each other from two opposite ends of the room. Inuba ushered Ciel and Skyla out of Kitsuki's room after Dante got back up, and the three were waiting outside making sure the door remained closed at all times.

It was dark out now. And Kitsuki felt a little uneasy as Dante took a step forward. She tried to scoot back, but the headrest behind her stopped her.

She could still see it. But it was different now. It looked more like the picture. The blackened skin that resembled vicious, segmented armor that layered his entire body from neck to toe. A single plating of thin black armor covered his face, looking like a mask of sorts. The maw of teeth that was a part of the shadowy, armored face. The long horns that bent inwards before curving outwards. The gaps in his armored hide and the inside of mouth that glowed bright white. Black Aura oozing from all around its body.

But his eyes. His eyes were different from the picture. Instead of the perfectly round, circular eyes that glowed an ominous bright white, large, slanted eyeholes were present in the armored faceplate mask, showing his Shadow Eyes. Glowing white irises with black pupils and black sclera stared deep into golden-orange eyes. His eyes narrowed slightly to express his displeasure in frightening her.

"Listen, I am really sorry about scaring you." He spoke in a hollow, echoing voice.

"I don't know exactly why you can see… um… my alternate appearance, but I really am not going to hurt you." Dante admitted, speaking as gently as he could as he stopped walking forward.

Kitsuki had trouble signing something out, her fingers were still shaking as her eyes tried not to look at the teen before her, _"It's okay. Just… just stay over there. I don't know why I see you like this either…"_

What she saw was something akin to a demon. And no one else saw it in that moment but her. She could see the version of Dante that put fear into the hearts of nearly any and all that would gaze upon this form of his.

"Okay, I'll stay right here. I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was actually some sort of big scary monster that eats people and souls and… yeah, I'm not gonna go any further with that. Well, you've been spending time with my partner Inuba… So, what has she told you about me?" He asked slowly, remaining completely still.

"_That you're a really nice guy with a big heart. You'd do anything for your friends and you're willing to sacrifice yourself for their sakes." _Kitsuki signed out in the darkness of the room. The lights were out, which was her initial decision when she realized what Inuba requested of her to try to do, but she was starting to regret that now. The white glow only made it more ominous.

Inuba wanted her to at least give Dante a chance. And she was willing… but something else was scaring her now.

A dull crackle of thunder broke through the hammering of rain outside the window. It was distant, but it still carried into the room in a muffled boom.

She flinched, ears folding against her head as she pulled her blanket up to her heart. She didn't notice Dante had jumped slightly himself, his body shaking as his went wide.

"_She told me that you were the nicest person she has ever known."_

"There, see? If anything, everyone should trust what Inuba says. Especially if they say I'm nice. I try to be nice to everyone I can. Being nice is fun. Most of the time. I don't want you thinking that I'm like The Devil or his cousin Steve, or-"

There was another crack of thunder, and Dante jumped slightly. His eyes quickly watched Kitsuki flinch on the bed as her eyes and ears shied away from the window, staring back at him. She was seeing something strange happening to him. It was as if his Shadow Skin was slowly dissolving away into the night.

"Anyway, I'm not a big scary monster, well, technically not, but truthfully even I don't know exactly what I am, I know I'm not exactly human but I am just me, and you can trust me." He said really fast as he gave her a double thumbs up.

He wasn't sure if he was getting anywhere with the girl in front of him.

"_I believe you." _Kitsuki signed out.

There was another flash of light, then a resounding boom as the sound of thunder tore through the walls in a concussive blast.

It sounded like it was just outside now.

Someone squealed in the room as two bodies suddenly threw the only blanket into the air and scurried beneath it, both shivering heavily as another flash illuminated the room just before another blast of thunder shook it to its core.

Another squeal.

Kitsuki was mute, but she certainly thought it was her who was making that rather girlish squealing noise. She wanted to squeal.

It wasn't her.

By the third crack of lightning, Dante and Kitsuki were clinging together beneath the covers as the storm raged on outside, all tension between them was thrown to the wind as a baser phobia took over in the both of them. Thunder and lightning shattered in the rainy sky, as if knowing how much the two in the room feared them, as the storm continued for the rest of the night.

Kitsuki didn't see him as a monster anymore. She saw him as he normally was. Slightly sweating and looking somewhat terrified, but still, nonetheless she saw him normally now. Not as a demon. Not as a shade. But as a normal person.

"_Y-You're afraid of lighting and thunder t-too..?" _she signed.

"W-What..? No… Not in the slightest!"

Another crack of thunder and a flash of lightning soon proved that theory wrong as he let out yet another girlish scream and jumped just as much as Kitsuki did.

"Yes I am very afraid!" he corrected as his shivering became more apparent.

Despite the current situation, Kitsuki was rather amused slightly. No longer afraid of him, her shivering hand took hold of his own shaking hand. And in that moment, she felt safer than she did previously.

The immortal and the kitsune never let go of each other until dawn broke through the morning clouds.

* * *

**That was a series of light-hearted interactions that I'm hoping helps draw the intensity away from the fighting and the dramatic happenings that have been taking place as of late. Everything is still going to happen, of course, but this is just a little break from it.**

**It's necessary after all. They're all tired. They need sleep, regain their strength, and get ready for the fight once Zeridûl's realm stabilizes.**

**Oh yeah, Karazil's back as well. Though, she's acting differently than she did before. There's a reason for that.**

**I hope the cute interactions were all satisfactory for all of you. Kitsuki is going to be rather adorable in my story, so be prepared just in case I decide to do more of them.**

**Which I probably will.**

**It felt nice slipping into Xera's perspective once again. It feels like this story might as well just say that Third Person is what it's normally set to, and anything else would just be noted at the top of each segment. But, I digress, I do find it fun to write in such a way to have thoughts here and there, and, well, everywhere.**

**Rogue Huntsman has been my way of practicing that little writing style.**

**Anyway, Kitsuki, meet the readers. Readers, meet Kitsuki.**

**Oh, and yeah, Dante's afraid of thunder and lightning. And so is Kitsuki. What a way to break the ice between them XD.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	72. The Wrong Idea

**Uh, remember that warning I instated in the previous chapter?**

**Yeah.**

**WARNING: FLUFF AHEAD! Grab your blankets, grab your nearest pet, grab something soft or anything to cuddle with. It's time for some fluff.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 72: The Wrong Idea

**Xera's POV**

I watched in mild confusion as Inuba locked the door to Kitsuki's infirmary room. On the other hand, I wasn't confused when Ciel and Skyla scampered off with disheartened and bored faces in some form of cuteness withdrawal.

They were only away from Kitsuki for nine seconds.

The two girls disappeared down the darkening hallway as the rain fell a little harder outside, striking the window at the end of the corridor as I noticed Inuba turn around and place her back to the door. She slid down slowly, situating herself on the floor before pulling her knees up and against her chest.

Her fox tail wound its way around her ankles and shins, giving her that protective field of white fur that I noticed Kitsuki instinctively curl into as well.

"You think they'll be fine?" I asked, walking past the fox-yōkai against the door and making my way to the windowsill. We were at the end of the hallway, and Kitsuki's door wasn't too far from the window, so the distance between us was still four or five feet at most.

I didn't want to sit next to or directly in front of her. I wasn't sure why. I just felt it'd be a little offbeat for me to do that.

I didn't know her too well.

"My intention is for Kitsuki to see Dante at a comforting level, rather than the image she's been witnessing since his appearance," Inuba spoke softly, keeping her tone low.

It was a little hard to hear her, but I tuned out the rain clinking against the window next to my head as I pulled myself up onto the sill, bending one leg up as I leaned against the frame of the window's crook in the wall.

A white light flashed across the pain of glass at my right, illuminating Beacon's courtyards and gardens for a brief, shining moment before thunder shook the night sky.

This storm came out of nowhere.

"Do you think it's really that simple?" I asked, my gaze wandering the darkness outside as streams of water poured down the glass beside me.

"I believe so. There are other methods I can try should this not work, but I am confident in how this will play out," The kitsune responded, resting her own head against the door at her back and glancing to me.

I could see the reflection of her crimson eyes against the dark window. They were a nice contract, compared to the white of her attire and hair, and the paleness of her skin.

She was eye-catching in terms of color, but it didn't stop there. Her figure was just as alluring. It reminded me of a certain cat-faunus.

I wonder where she is, right about now.

"Well, if it works, I hope they become friends. If anything, I hope Kitsuki can start building her own little network of people who care about her," I rested my elbow on my raised knee and glanced up into the cloudy night sky, watching streaks of blazing light dance across the stormy canopy above.

It grew silent like that for a little while, the two of us just sitting there, listening. The rain grew a little harder, and the storm closed in a little closer, but we sat there in silence for the better part of a few minutes.

The smallest of movements caught my attention, and I turned to see Inuba running a delicate hand across her white tail.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you know Kitsuki's name and her past?" Inuba asked, her eyes drifting across her tail before her gaze lifted and fell on me in my seat against the window.

I took that moment to pull out my black scroll.

"When I found her at the facility, she was barely being kept alive by a couple machines on their last legs of scheduled functionality. They weren't going to last," I replied quietly, but I didn't feel like treading around this conversation too carefully, "One of those machines was a computer hooked up to the control panel running her life-support operations."

"They most likely took meticulous time logs, I presume," Inuba responded, her hand pulling away from her tail now as she looked at me.

"It was a research facility. Time logs, data records, journals, formal notes, they were all on digital record," I continued in soft exasperation, it really was a tightly knit operation, "Even full background files on the subjects they collect."

Another flash of lightning danced across the window and along the floor of the hallway, glancing off the sleek edge of my scroll as I waited for the thunder to roll in a moment later.

"How much of the information did you gain access to?" She asked.

I turned my scroll around, not bothering with sliding it open for now as I glanced back into the night, "All of it, including her family history."

One of Inuba's legs shifted for a moment, and I saw her push one heel out in front of her as she regarded me with a careful, sympathetic gaze now, "She didn't have one, did she…?"

Her voice carried more sympathy than her eyes, reaching a tone I could only describe as genuine.

"None on record," I let the words carry into the air as I slipped my scroll back into my pocket, "She grew up an orphan in Mistral, where she survived in a small, close group of others just like her. They were all around the same age."

They didn't just find Kitsuki or any of their subjects. They watched them, studied them, gathered information and waited.

It was all planned, all of it. From start to end, every step was a meticulous study to find the most suitable targets.

I think Inuba made the assumption I did as well, so I let my leg fall from the windowsill I sat on and slid myself onto its ledge, "The records didn't say anything about what happened to the rest of them. They all were simply written off after they collected Kitsuki."

That word… 'collected'… it felt inhumane, even to say. It was how they described it in the file.

"Then she somehow was transported to the facility in Krono Desert, where you found her," Inuba replied, red eyes regarding me as I slipped back down onto the tiled floor of the hallway.

"I want to build her a family." I stated simply, taking a step as I pushed my hands into my pockets, "A new one. Because what she doesn't remember now," I stopped in front of Inuba and glanced down at her, "She'll remember in the future, and no one can know for certain what she'll be feeling when that time comes."

"I had a feeling you had that intention when you mentioned a growing network of people who care for her," The girl on the floor responded, glancing up at me as her fox ears perked up ever so slightly.

It was almost too perfect.

A flash of white light illuminated the right side of her body, caressing her skin in an almost ethereal glow as she tucked a stray strand of shoulder-length white hair behind her human ear.

"Inuba," I addressed, letting the following thunder dull down as I tilted my head and gave the fox-yōkai a small smile, "Would you mind playing the part of Kitsuki's older sister? Even if it's just every once in a while."

Inuba's eyes left mine as she glanced to the side, turning her head slightly now as her ears perked up just a little higher, "I suppose I can visit every once in a while. The crystals allow for transportation with only a simple limit to the time buffers between the trips."

Her crimson irises came back to me as I watched her give me an affectionate smile. Her fox ears were the only answer I needed, seeing as they stood up in elation and bounced atop her head.

"Thank you, Xera. I would love to fill the role you request of me."

"Good," I smirked, letting my shoulders relax now as I turned and kept walking, "That means a lot, more than you'll ever know."

I spoke the words softly as I left the kitsune in the hallway, wondering if she had a plan for where she'd be sleeping when it came time to turn in for her. She was just monitoring the two in the room at the moment, a task she took upon herself.

"Get some sleep," I spoke, letting my voice carry behind me, "Inuba."

You'll need it.

Another flash of light illuminated the hallway in front of me, and with it came the thunder. But with the tension gone, and my purposes met, I suddenly realized something.

Did thunder always squeal like that?

* * *

I wasn't really that tired, to be honest. If I tried to sleep now, I don't think I'd be able to. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep over the past few days with everything that's happened…

The end of the tournament, the immediate days that followed for our infiltration mission into Krono Facility, falling into a sea of Grimm only to wake up a few hours later at sunrise, fighting off that Leviathan for so long before backup arrived to eventually kill it, then I woke up in an infirmary bed with Blake lying at my side.

And even then, right after that, I jumped right into a grueling battle within Zerath to flush out the Dark Entity taking residence there.

And yet… I wasn't that tired.

Now that I thought about it that way, something was probably wrong with me. Karazil mentioned I was healthy in her scan, but she didn't immediately tell me what that scan entirely consisted of. I asked her after laying out the groundwork of a couple rules for privacy.

It wasn't just an x-ray or a bio-scan. It was several more intricately coded scans of analysis that took in every aspect it could possibly see. It checked my blood type, white blood cell count, internal functionality, thermal for temperature regulation, and it didn't stop there.

I was healthy, but that term was broad as it is. There isn't anything wrong except for that kink in my right wing, but that was it.

So, why then… why don't I feel tired?

I guess I can justify that all with adrenaline, in a way. I don't know for sure. I don't have the answers, but I'd love to find them.

For now, the light steps of my black running sneakers came to a quiet stop as I looked up at a set of tall, scorched doors. They were probably pristine at some point, but that was a long time ago. A small smirk crossed my lips as I swiped my scroll, signing into the forge room as the doors before me slowly opened.

The usual heat that poured out of the room wasn't there. Instead, the forge room was quiet and dark. It was silent, and I made my way in nonetheless. No one was in here, which meant I had the room to myself for the night.

I could work on more weapon concepts. I had a couple designs I had in mind, one of which was a long range rifle. The idea was to build a weapon that ignored wind resistance and adjustment, bullet drop, and lack of force over greater distances. Not to mention the recoil has always been an issue with powerful guns like that.

I wanted to build a way to completely ignore all of those factors.

Somehow.

I was still working on that part. It was a lot to try to ignore. I've been through several designs for bullets already, and countless rifled barrels in an assortment of tests to see which ones were more accurate.

The good part was, I happened to design a rather adaptable bullet for windy, long range conditions. But the bullet drop was still an issue…

It wasn't like bullets had self-sustained lift.

I went over to a control panel and flicked on a set of lights, letting my usual workstation glow at the cost of electrical Dust as I turned and started making my way over to my worktable there. All of my blueprints were digital, so the built-in scroll in the surface of the work area was in the middle of booting up when I realized something… off…

Someone was at my station.

She was in her usual yukata, pale legs visible since her back was turned to me. One lithe leg sat crossed over the other, gently bouncing a black slipper up and down as I made my way over. Her bow was in place, just in case, but I could see the folds of it were pushed against her head, mirroring the position of her cat ears.

I could see a small dampness in her raven hair, along with a quiet shimmer in the lush waves of the black strands that cascaded down her back. With it came the faintest of scents, sweet and almost citrusy.

She probably just showered too.

She had her cheek and chin in her palm, elbow supporting it all against the surface of my workstation as she twirled a black pen with her other finger. It was the stylus pen I used to draw on my digital blueprints.

Her head turned ever so slightly as I grew closer, the slightest of glances passing over her shoulder now as she turned an amber eye my way.

"How did I know I'd find you here…?" Blake asked, placing the pen twirling between her elegant fingers back where she found it as I made my way over to the other side.

She was sitting on the only stool at my station.

"I guess I've gotten pretty predictable, huh?" I replied, giving my station a quick glance before leaning over my side and placing my arms in a crossed fashion in front of me for support, then turned my gaze to the dark forge at our side.

"I've known you for long enough to know what you're thinking. Most of the time, anyway," Blake said, keeping her tired gaze mostly on me.

"I'm sure if people thought hard enough, they'd probably be able to see through me," I spoke with a soft sigh, looking down to see my most recent blueprint load up and open across the expanse of the station before me.

I closed it and shut the large scroll back down.

Blake hummed for a moment, and I watched as she tapped her fingers gently against her soft, flushed cheek before responding, "You're the hardest person to read sometimes, so I wouldn't go that far. Besides, your eyes are the only part of you that is an open book."

I found my eyes quickly averting for a moment before turning them back to my girlfriend, "I guess I'm a little thankful for that. I don't have to worry about showing any emotions."

"Doesn't mean you can't feel them," Blake was quick to reply, keeping her voice as soft as her silk yukata.

"Yeah…" I trailed off, nodding my head slightly as I shrugged my shoulders, "I have a feeling my emotions are going to start playing a bigger role from now on."

"A bigger role? How come?"

I turned my eyes away again as I stood up straight, slipping my hands into my sweatpants pockets.

"You're nervous," Blake commented.

I couldn't help but let out a small sigh. She wasn't wrong.

The harsh sound of a stool scooting back slipped into the quiet atmosphere of the room before I heard her softly slide herself off her seat and make her way around the workstation.

She appeared in front of me, placing her back to my workstation and before she pushed herself up to sit on its edge, crossing one ankle behind the other and locking them.

Mom was right about her… What she said out there in the desert, whether she was there physically or just mentally, her words held merit. I was starting to understand that, as I turned and pushed myself up next to Blake on the workstation.

She slipped her bare arm beneath my own and leaned against me, resting her head on my warm shoulder before closing her eyes, "Did something happen out there?"

A lot happened out there…

"More than anyone will know," I muttered quietly, finding a lot of solace in Blake's presence. I always did.

"Will I get to know?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

Blake was the first person I talked to about what happened, and for now, she was the only one I actually wanted to reveal any of this to. I told her everything, and to be honest, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

We stayed like that for about twenty minutes. She just listened to me, flicking her cat ears every once in a while as she stayed at my side.

She still didn't say anything, even when I was done.

I don't think I wanted her to if I were being honest. I think she knew that.

Instead, she slipped off her seat and to the floor, sneaking her feet more snugly into her black, furry slippers before reaching out and pulling me off with her. She didn't say anything, she just gave me a soft, tired smile as she started tugging me along.

She pulled me to the exit of the forge room, turned off the lights, and pulled me out the door and down the dark hallways of the school. I half-wondered where we were going, but at this point, I didn't really care where.

We took the inside paths of the courtyards, getting out into the cold, wet, stormy air of the outdoors as we walked covered trails, keeping us dry. She pulled me further along, re-entering another building.

Something I immediately recognized.

It was our dormitory.

We took the stairs, taking them slowly, quietly. I listened to the constant pats and slides of her slippers along the floor, noticing how the backs of them slipped off her pale heel with every step as we made our way down the hallways.

The next corner took us to our hallway, where both our dorms were. Part of me was about to say something about not wanting to go into her room, not now anyway, but that thought left me as she pulled me past her door and stopped us at the face of my dorm room.

I unlocked the door, and we went inside.

The room was dark and the lights haven't been on for a little while. I could feel a faint presence of heat exuding from them in the ceiling, but they haven't been active for several hours, from what I could sense. No one else was in the room.

Blake didn't bother turning them on, letting the dim lights of the hallway disappear into a sliver, before vanishing as the door closed behind her and I looked around. The rain was still falling, tapping against the window as a quiet white flash illuminated the room.

All the beds were empty.

That reminded me…

The nurses still wanted to monitor Skyla's vitals and aura, double checking everything as more time went by to make sure she was alright. Ciel decided to have a little sleepover with her as they waited for Kitsuki's room to open again.

They found out Allix was probably going to sleep in an empty bed in Rex's room, so they told me they had plans on ambushing her and having an even bigger sleepover.

It sounded like they were really hitting it off, Ciel and Skyla.

Maybe that was to be expected.

In any case, I was the only member of my team who was going to be in this room all night. The rest of XSRA was elsewhere.

"Don't let your mind wander, not that it usually does anyway," Blake spoke up for the first time since she said anything in the forge room. A soft click sounded soon after, the sound of the locking mechanism in the door sliding into place before she pushed away from the wall and moved over toward me.

"I'm not really keen on thinking of anything right now," I admitted, looking off to the side.

"Good. What I want you to do right now doesn't require much thinking," Blake replied softly.

The empty space between us evaporated with every step she took, and soon, she brushed all personal space aside when she reached up and wrapped her arms loosely around my neck. Her golden eyes blinked in the dark room, but I was still able to see everything else given my night vision.

And so could she.

"Please, Xera," She tilted her head, eyes going half-lidded as she looked up into my pink irises, "Let me be selfish, just this one time."

Her tone was quiet, meek, and almost needy. I didn't think I could refute it, even if I wanted to. My own arms wrapped around her waist and lower back, pulling her closer as I tilted my own head, "I never said you couldn't be."

A gentle, relieved smile curled across her soft lips as I watched her pale cheeks turn red. She noticed I tilted my own head opposite hers, leaving the only distance between our faces at a bare minimum with nothing between us but our shallow breaths.

That distance vanished when she leaned in and captured my lips with her own, causing my fire to flare momentarily in the darkness of the dorm.

Her lips were softer than I remembered, sweeter. I craved them more, but maybe that was just because I haven't been able to spend much time with Blake for a while now. And she was the one to initiate, bringing anticipation to the kiss that I wasn't used to.

In that moment, I started to feel a little tired. More tired than I did earlier, as I started to let the drain of energy over the past few days start to catch up to me.

She pressed against me as she leaned back, letting me hold her waist against mine as her amber eyes opened into a half-lidded gaze, the cat-like slants to them that I always found adorable becoming slightly more apparent now, "Sleep with me."

I couldn't help but smile slightly before I pressed my forehead against hers and looked into her eyes, "Are you asking, or are you telling?"

Her own smirk grew as she brushed her nose against mine, "I want to be selfish tonight, so let me take what I want. And what I want…" she pulled us closer together and pushed into me, the redness in her cheeks spreading further as she held her gaze on mine, "is you."

I tilted my head ever so slightly as I hummed, my eyes shining a bright pink, "If you say stuff like that, I might get the wrong idea."

Blake's expression didn't change, "Maybe the wrong idea is what I'm looking for."

"Maybe we're both looking for the wrong idea," I replied within the next beat, my eyes remaining in the pink. But the small flicker in her eyes and her growing smirk told me they transitioned to orange for an instant.

"It's cute when you get embarrassed. Orange suits you, it makes your irises as bright as your fire," She spoke softly with all the care in the world, but there was an underlying enjoyment to it.

"And you're adorable when you give into your urges when you want your ears to be played with," I retaliated, "It gives you an irresistible blush."

"I can't help myself sometimes," Blake murmured.

I could only smirk, "Neither can I."

"Then you can't blame me for this," Blake replied, slipping her arms from my neck and sliding them down the front of my black sweatshirt, grabbing at the hem of it and tugging it upward.

I let her pull my sweatshirt over my head, tugging the fabric completely free from me as she threw it onto the bedpost of my bed. Her hands then returned to my chest, where my wings were still wrapped tightly around my upper body and torso.

"A little birdie told me that you had a kink in your wing," Blake said, softly running her fingers through the ruffles of my feathers as a warm shiver ran up my spine, "And how to fix it."

"When did you get in contact with Karazil?" I asked, mildly concerned, but I realized what the answer was going to be before she responded.

I had only activated Karazil today, but I had the feeling she had plenty of time to sift through everything she wanted to on my scroll.

"I got a text from your scroll, but I could tell it wasn't from you," She informed, softly unraveling my feathers from my body, "She called herself an AI. I didn't believe her at first, but she told me that the small wound in your wing shouldn't be ignored. That I was the only person you'd likely ask to take a look at it, but you probably would've put it off."

She slid the layers of my feathers, undoing their overlaps as my wings slowly unclasped from their tight wrapping, falling delicately to the floor before she rested her fingertips on my bare chest.

"Get changed and lie down on your bed, I'll see if I can get rid of the knots in your wings," Blake said affectionately, pushing slightly away from me before she slipped past me and crawled up onto my bed.

"That depends," I replied, glancing at her over my shoulder as she sat on her heels, leaving her slippers on the floor, "Are you going to stare?"

She didn't even hide her blush from me, "Don't you want me to?"

Don't make your voice sound innocent if it didn't have an innocent intention behind it.

I made my way over to my dresser with a quiet chuckle and pulled open a drawer, taking out a pair of black gym shorts. It had a lime green stripe going down each side, with decently deep pockets built into it as well, but overall it wasn't heavy and was comfortably light.

Always nice for sleepwear.

I slipped out of my shoes and slid them to the foot of my bed, turning toward Blake a moment later to find her casually staring at me with an expectant smile.

A smile grew across my own face as I turned around, forming a large, black, and sleek shield with my wings to block my body from view as I exchanged my pair of sweatpants for my knee-length pair of shorts, taking my socks off afterward before dropping my winged veil.

"Feeling a little self-conscious?" Blake asked.

"Well, you _were_ staring," I commented.

She simply just shrugged her shoulders, fixing the loose shoulder of her yukata after it slipped over her pale shoulder, "I wanted to."

It really wasn't a big deal, since it was just my boxers she would've seen, but I found it a little fun teasing her like this. Denying her even that small view.

Her hand extended down to her side as she softly pat the bed next to her, a small gesture with an easily distinguishable meaning. That didn't stop me from feeling a little apprehensive about it.

"I've never really let anyone touch my wings like this before," I admitted, approaching the foot of the bed in my own time, "But, I realize that's pretty hypocritical."

Blake smirked at that, but it wasn't taunting in any way. It was comforting, gentle, and wasn't really meant to poke fun at all, "I figured it was about time I returned the favor for all the times you massaged my ears. And, to even things out further…"

She reached up and untied her bow, setting the ribbon down on the desk between the beds before flicking one of her cat ears at me.

"Now I'm on show too." She finished.

I couldn't argue, not against that.

My own blush spread across my cheeks as I made my way onto the bed, eyes melting into bright orange as I crawled over to Blake's side and settled down onto my stomach. I couldn't see her hands anymore, or see where she was looking, so I waited in baited anticipation and uncertainty with what was going to happen.

There was a slight shift of weight on the bed, and even though it was small, I still held my breath.

I didn't release it until I felt the lightest of touches on my wings and felt Blake's fingers straightening them out.

"Just lie still and relax. I want to be selfish tonight, so let me have my way with you," Blake spoke softly in a comforting tone.

It only caused my body temperature to rise.

"Stop giving me the wrong idea," I muttered, my face growing hotter as my irises smoldered in twin shining orange orbs.

There was another shift on the bed, and I suddenly felt the weight across the mattress even out as Blake settled her knee over to the other side of my lower back before I felt her straddle my waist.

Her legs pressed softly into my sides as she leaned forward, lithely pressing the rest of her shapely body into my bare back as she craned her neck down and brushed her cheek against my ear.

She let out a soothing breath as her lips parted ever so slightly, "Who said anything about me giving you the wrong idea?"

I didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

**Third Person**

Thunder shook the sky as the rain picked up, lightning illuminating the forest below as the heavy water pounded against the dirt and the roots against the vast floor of the Emerald Forest. Shining streaks of light spanned across the area, connecting trees and stones in thin, unbreakable lines of reflective wires.

The forest was lined with them in its entirety, concentrating in a specific area of the forest that webbed out on all sides of a campsite. Crosshatches glowed above a burning fire. Aura strands were weaved tightly together to keep out the rain as the two beneath it set up on a completely dry ground.

"I hope you didn't leave any holes in your little web," Kyzal spoke up over the distant rain, reaching out with a twig and poking a nearby strand of thin aura.

The line of light melted through the twig like the twig didn't even exist at all.

He suddenly felt relieved he didn't poke any of them with his finger.

"Whether or not there are holes in my layout doesn't matter. The strands can easily shift as I see fit, and throughout the night, all the Grimm in the immediate area will have their eyes set on us," Niro replied, sitting on the forest floor and leaning his back against the base of a tree.

"Right, right," Kyzal waved his hand dismissively, "your negativity is as strong as it gets."

"It's not that simple." Niro replied, pulling the rim of his hat down to cover his eyes, "But I don't expect anyone to understand either."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't bother trying," Kyzal replied, tugging at his collar as he sprawled out on the ground near the fire. A shiver tore through his spine as he sought out the warmth of their burning flame, "You don't get cold, do you, Niro…?"

"Not in the slightest." The modern cowboy responded.

"Not even a little bit?" Kyzal asked, reaching his hand into the air and letting the light of their campfire dance around on his arm.

He didn't get an answer.

A distant rustle of leaves sounded out in their perimeter before a low, guttural growl carried itself to their ears. It wasn't long before the sound of several chunks of something fleshy fell to the ground, then everything was silent again.

"Kyzal," Niro stated, pushing himself to his feet as he walked past the sniper lying near the fire.

"Yo," He replied, glancing up at an upside-down Niro as the hired hunter walked past him.

"Watch the fire, I have something I want to check out."

"Need backup?"

"No, it's a bit of a hike and I doubt you're capable of keeping pace with me."

"Going on a hike? Don't die man, or I'll get all your cut at the end of this. Actually, you know what, go break a leg out there!" Kyzal waved the other teen off as a wide smirk crossed his lips.

"Yeah, you break something too," Niro's response was as even as his usual tone as he stepped out into the trees and disappeared into the night.

He walked through the thick foliage and brush of the forest, passing several lines of lime green light and letting a couple of his strands pass harmlessly through his body. Aura had several rules, and he was aware of all of them.

One of which was always immutable, as was the rest in usual circumstances. That rule was as simple as it got.

Aura can in no way, in any scenario, inflict harm upon the source that conceived it. Aura can't defend against itself nor can it harm itself. It was a basic rule that all aura sources followed.

The same rule applied to his aura strands. They couldn't hurt him, it was impossible. So he could pass through them without a care in the world.

No one else was lucky enough to say the same.

Before he left the perimeter of his strands, he lowered himself to his knee and pressed his gloved hand into the cold ground. Immediately, a massive pulse of lime green aura shot down his arm and amplified itself through his weaponized glove, coursing into the roots and the dirt as it shot out around him.

A fading, shimmering light spanned out around him like a ripple in the still water of a vast lake. The light tore through the ground in a harmless glow, rendering in the world and everything it touched as it climbed up every tree, slipped into every leaf, and carried through every branch.

He got a layout of everything. He knew exactly how many trees were within five klicks of him. He knew the exact number of leaves that all of those trees bore, how many berries were edible within walking distance of five minutes, how many were poisonous within six, how many Grimm wandered the forest around him.

And more specifically, he narrowed in on a strange structure he sensed earlier.

Its surface was cold, its corners were cut, and it held a strange warmth within its reaches. The reason why it was strange… was that he recognized that feeling.

The warmth that this cold structure contained was something he couldn't convince himself to forget or repress, and for that very reason, he had every intention to find out what was causing that feeling.

And to do that, he needed to hike up the side of a mountain.

51 Grimm tried to get in his way as he walked through the forest. He tore each one of them limb from limb, even the deathstalkers that wandered too far from their caves.

He made it to the base of a mountain without too much of the night passing, letting the rain soak through his trench coat now as he stepped out into a clearing and a wet valley. The mountain before him glistened and glowed. Its snow sleek and shining in the light of the shattered moon as he made his way forward.

"Mount Kenna," Niro muttered, sending his senses to the peak of this high mountain and confirming the feeling of that warmth he noticed before, "The highest piece of land across the entirety of Vale's eastern mountain range."

He wasn't sure if he found that fitting… or concerning. Either way, he realized this warmth that he was sensing was getting stronger with the closer he moved to this mountain's highest stones.

_Why… why am I sensing her…? _

Niro glanced up into the cold, dreary sky. Light slipped through cracks in the clouds above, but none of that mattered as he let the rain fall against his face as he turned his gaze to Mount Kenna's summit.

_How is that possible?_

Impossibility wasn't a foreign concept for Niro. No, it's never been an issue for him nor has it ever been something he's had to question. His abilities were limitless, his power unmistakably incredible, and his presence far stronger than anything else he's ever encountered.

Yet, this underlying uncertainty… he didn't know where it was coming from, or why it was there.

He just knew one thing and one thing only.

He was going to find out what was at the top of that mountain.

The falling rain soon transitioned into a heavy, windy snowstorm. The upturned flaps of his collar and tails of his black trench coat whipped about loudly in the gale of rushing winds as his boots crunched through the snow.

Each step dug deeply into the inclined pathway before him, but he showed absolutely no resistance to the heavy snow clinging to his movements. He trudged through with ease, as if the deep snow didn't exist, as he pulled his hat down over his head and kept it from blowing away.

A pack of erebas tried to ambush him, each black panther silently surrounding him in the zero-visibility veil of snow that engulfed his black-clothed frame. Conditions were worse than they've ever been on Mount Kenna, making even the inches before his eyes impossible to see as nothing but white blurred his vision.

The panthers moved with utmost stealth, attacking in unison and calculated tactical formations and unpredictable patterns.

They were all slaughtered in the blink of an eye.

Not even their blood fell to the snowy ground, freezing in the air then shattering into fragments so small they burned away by Niro's presence. The erebas were wiped from existence.

His pace never slowed as he continued up the mountain, passing through the rising levels of snow as he pushed onward. He could only sense one more entity, and it was nearing him as he closed in on Kenna's peak.

The clouds around him finally stopped beating down on the mountainside, passing him by as he left the cloud level behind and ascended past their dark reaches. Only the wind remained, everything else cleared as the starry sky above came into view once again.

Shadowy, swirling hills and rolling oceans pooled in dark storm clouds in every direction from where he stood. Portions of the storm around him flashed and cast delicate shadows along the top reaches of the clouds before him, dully thundering at the bottom of the mountain as he made his way further.

But before he could reach the end of his journey, something stirred in the cold air ahead of him.

A creature stalked quietly into the path before him, causing him to stop his pace momentarily.

"A snow tiger," Niro spoke lowly, lime green eyes regarding the predator's icy blue gaze. The creature was large, larger than the tigers he's seen in his past. The beast was nearly the size of an ursa, exceeding the frame of a beowolf, but not quite reaching the thickness of a large bear.

It had muscle, a lot of it. All of it amplified its litheness and agility, and no doubt gave it an incredible amount of strength and power behind its claws or large, toothy maw.

Its fur was frost white and its stripes were a deep black, and against this kind of backdrop, the snow tiger blended into its surroundings near perfectly.

"What are you protecting, tiger?" Niro asked, standing his ground as the beast bore its gaze into his soul. It held a calmness that carried an incredible lethality, regarding him with a tense glare that seemed to be taking in every aspect of his being.

Judging him to see what threat level he imposed.

Niro accepted that challenge.

The man's aura flared, surging out of him in an overwhelming presence of unbeatable power. No ocean in the world could contain the amount of violent aura he suddenly poured out of his body, reaching into the reaches of the sky and surging up the side of the mountain in an impressive, forceful new gale.

"This is only a fraction of the power that I possess," His voice carried loudly into the windy sky, aura causing his own winds to surge as his coat tore at the air in fluttering violence, "Will you still face me head on?"

The tiger growled, taking a step back as it dipped its head slightly. It sensed the seemingly unlimited power seep through the snow at its paws, crawl through the fur of its back, and blast the face of this mountainside to metaphorical shreds as the invader's presence only continued to grow.

"How will you face an enemy beyond your capabilities?" Niro questioned further, extending his arms and pouring more aura into the air around him.

One paw dug into the ground as the snow tiger stepped forward, a second paw followed before the creature tensed and growled. Its eyes narrowed momentarily as it glared challengingly at Niro's overwhelming presence, before hunching down with its thick muscles and fur.

It extended forward in a solid, stationary lurch with powerful tension in every fiber of its being, releasing an echoing roar that raged out of its maw and across the stormy clouds below.

The howling winds surrounding Niro were matched with a roar of equal, ear piercing decibels. Its reverberating roar tore through the air Niro sent its way, crashing against him as its vocal, destructive waves rolled down the mountainside behind him and crashed into the clear air above.

Niro dropped his arms as the snow tiger lowered into a prowl, moving slightly forward as it traversed the snow in delicate, quiet suspension.

"You would risk your own life to defend this territory," Niro spoke calmly, stopping the tiger in its tracks as it glared at him, "Against a menace you have no hope of beating, you challenge me anyway."

Niro tugged the tip of his cowboy hat, hiding his eyes one last time as he turned and regarded the tiger from his side now.

"No animal with any wit to its name has ever stood its ground against me," He spoke lowly again, turning further away as he kept the tiger in the corner of his vision, "The obelisk at this mountain's peak, the one you stand in defense of before me, it must be important to you. Or, someone you know."

The tiger growled again, lessening the guttural intensity in it but keeping its low, deep, resounding presence. Its predatory gaze stayed locked on Niro's form as it snarled, keeping itself between the new arrival and the icy obelisk far at its flank.

Niro smirked beneath his cowboy hat, "I understand. I'll leave you be. Maintain your control for as long as you can, and don't die to anything." He lowered his head, cowboy hat hiding the upper half of his face as he raised his voice, "You accepted my challenge and face me head on. I'll instate your own challenge. Your task is to survive, I dare you to try. Live for as long as you can, snow tiger, and maybe we'll see each other again."

He tipped his hat one more time before turning, letting the tiger slip from his vision.

_There's no doubt now… that confirms it…_

Niro's smirk never left his lips as he gazed out across the deep, quietly raging sea of darkly brewing clouds in every direction.

_So, your heir lives while you slumber in timeless peace, Leona._

His attention returned, however, as he heard movement in the snow behind him. Niro turned to see the snow tiger quietly pawing its way back to the obelisk behind it, circling the snow for a moment before resting its powerful body protectively at its base.

It closed its eyes and lifted its ears, breath slowly slipping in and out of its faded nose as it entered an alert state, despite sleeping peacefully next to the memorial. His eyes shifted upwards, sensing, only just now, a sudden discrepancy in the air currents of this mountaintop.

In his view, a spectral, black figure stood in front of the memorial, resting its ethereal black hand on the engraving on its side, as if it were studying it. Black energies oozed from the specter, drifting along in the wind along with its black cloak that also oozed of this… dark energy.

"I see… How unfortunate that you and your people have suffered such injustice…" Its voice carried itself across the distance of snow between them, yet, despite the presence of its tone… it still sounded distant.

"You're the first to slip through my senses unseen. In fact, I sensed you as if only now you willingly just made your presence known." Niro replied, turning fully to the obelisk as he lifted his head, bright eyes narrowing in on the figure before him, "Your presence is dark… who are you?"

"I am no one of significant mention or importance. I am simply a passerby and an observer." Spoke the specter in a hollow, echoing voice. Its hand dropped to its side in silence.

The specters head turned towards the right, in the direction of the Beacon. It was ignoring him.

"Hmmmmm… So that's where…"

"Your lies drip from you like the black mist seeping out of your being."

"Again, no one of great importance. And I walked here for your information… Niro Ezdeil."

"I would've remembered meeting someone like you, but a chance encounter such as that isn't in my memory. Don't be so full of yourself, though. Names aren't hard to come by. What else do you know?"

"I know a great many things Mr. Ezdeil. Some would say I know everything. The people I knew would say I know too much."

The specter turned to face him. Its entire head was pitch black like its cloak and the skin that could be seen. It had no face, save for the two perfectly round, glowing white circles for eyes that stared back at him.

"I know that you too are a tragic victim of unfortunate circumstance."

Niro noticed the countermeasures he set up in secret had long since vanished, erasing from existence.

_A nice little trick to make my traps disappear instantly… And to add to that, my Semblance doesn't-_

"Your Semblance doesn't affect me? It's a fairly simple answer, really. I erased your countermeasures. And I locked access to your Aura, Semblance and that special… condition of yours."

"Redefining those you don't know can be dangerous. I could always tap into something else, it might not be as simple as you assume…"

"I do not like to boast Mr. Ezdeil, but such a thing is not impossible for one such as myself to lock you down for the time being. Do not worry, I mean you no harm. I simply did so as a sort of… oh, dear me… what is the term these days? Ah yes, I remember now. I did so as a sort of 'insurance policy', as they say. I hope you understand. After all, you yourself went to a length to entrap me in case I would attack you."

"You're not wrong… You've been careful to this point to not tell me who you are, so, allow me to inquire something. Will you tell me your reason for being here specifically?"

"I'm following and keeping close watch of a group of four that recently arrived here. Five if you count the other. But then I came across something rather… peculiar. It piqued my interest greatly and… reminded me of days past. You did as well. Frankly Mr. Ezdeil, I made myself known to you to interact and converse with you. It's been far too long since I've done so…"

"You made yourself known to me so we can talk… just because you were bored?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

Niro smirked, "Brilliant…"

The specter chuckled to himself as he approached Niro, stopping just short of him. Oddly enough, he reached out his hand.

"I do believe people shake hands in making formal acquaintances with one another."

Niro did so, calmly shaking the specters hand. It felt cold.

"Wonderful. You and I are now acquaintances." The specter affirmed.

"Terrific… Who were you observing, or still are observing?"

"I believe you met them earlier today. Well, two of them at the least." It said, shrugging its shoulders.

"Those two?"

"Precisely. You noticed it too, didn't you?"

"I did… Those two aren't normal, none of the presences were. I could tell that much just by taking a look at their Aura."

"You would be right to think so. Did you know that they weren't the only two?"

"I counted five as soon as I stepped into the city, they're signatures stuck out like bloodstains on the floor of a white room. Their conversation suggested they were looking for their brother."

The specter chuckled to itself humorously.

"The two of them have always been rather attached to their older brother. They think the world of him. Most younger siblings tend to do that from what I've observed."

"The way you put it, it sounds as if you've been watching them for years now."

"I have from afar. Getting close to them currently would be rather problematic."

"The most you can do now is just watching them then, I assume." But, for what purpose…

"Indeed…" said the specter with a hint of sadness in its tone.

A silence remained between the two for a few moments until the specter spoke once more.

"Mr. Ezdeil, you are currently hunting a Xera Stark, are you not?"

"What if I am?"

"I would implore you to halt your progress in the current hunt for the time being."

"Or?"

"I'd rather not say…"

"Because of the siblings you're watching?"

"You are very perceptive… How enjoyable… Part of the reason is because of the three of them and their very loyal companion. Should you do anything rather… unsavory… well, it's safe to say the four of them will be more than enough for you. Especially their loyal companion. She… heh… she would very likely destroy your entire being."

"I somehow doubt that…" Underestimating someone was the single most dangerous thing you could do in a fight. But even if all five of them were immensely powerful, beyond the strengths of anything else…

That only raised Niro's chances of defeating them.

"Ah, but you see Mr. Ezdeil, you don't possess the knowledge I do. If you did, you would understand and give way to reason. But as I said, they would be a concern of yours. Invoke their wrath, and they would be your prime concern."

"And you're saying Xera Stark should be a concern?"

"Memories are a powerful thing Mr. Ezdeil. Memories reveal so much information that it's… well… indescribable… Leona Stark's were certainly powerful… I know a great deal about Xera Stark now from her memories. And from my own observations I've made thus far, he is certainly an individual of great interest."

"Are you telling me not to go after him because he's of interest to you?"

"Partly yes, but I know for a fact you won't listen to me. You'll take my words into account, but nothing more really unless you see for yourself. What I'm saying, is that you take some time off for now. Continue observing and making your reports. But do not engage. Not until the current business at hand has concluded. You've felt it too haven't you?"

"I have. I've never seen the likes of it before. But why should I halt my efforts because of whatever that thing is?"

"Well, Mr. Ezdeil… if it's caught your fancy, perhaps you should go and see for yourself what it is Xera Stark and the others fight currently."

"Perhaps I might…"

The specter chuckled to himself as he turned around and made to leave, stopping directly next to Niro.

"I know of your plight Mr. Ezdeil. Moreso than you think."

"And?"

"And…" the specter placed a hand on his shoulder, "It is never too late to re-evaluate your options and your views. There is always hope. Even in the deepest, blackest of places."

He gave him a pat on the back and went on his way.

"You still didn't tell me who you are."

"I've had many names over the eons Mr. Ezdeil. All of them quite flattering. In most instances anyway."

"You insinuate that you're-"

"No. An excellent guess, though. I've found this conversation to be most enjoyable Mr. Ezdeil. I look forward to seeing how this all progresses."

The specter snapped its fingers, immediately vanishing as he did so. Niro stood still on the mountaintop for a few moments, eventually walking down its slope again as he replayed his conversation with the specter.

"Time is irrelevant, so lateness for anything simply isn't a justification in any reaches of the worlds. Everything happens eventually."

Niro looked up one more time, at the shattered moon in the dark reaches of the sky.

"Never too late, huh…?" He shook his head slightly, before taking a shortcut and leaping off the side of the mountain, shattering ice and stone beneath his legs…

Only for those fractures to rebuild themselves and reseal in subtle, shining glows of lime green light.

* * *

**I TOLD YOU! IT WAS FLUFFY! I hope it was enjoyable.**

**I felt Xera and Blake needed some more screen time, so I gave them some. I then showed you a little more about Niro and Kyzal. I need to start building their characters after all, and this shows a lot about what kind of person Niro is.**

**It'll be fun to see what happens down the line. Oh, and if you were wondering, yes that was Zyther.**

**You know, Zyther? Xera's companion that protects his mother's grave? The grave he built? Yeah, that one.**

**For now, I hope it was a nice chapter to continue this small break from the action. I might do a few more, but I don't want to delay the tension for too long. But, I do really want there to be a buffer between everything.**

**And what better way to do that than with light, break chapters like these? They're nice, aren't they…? I think they are, and easy too.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	73. Reason to Risk Everything

**Emotions? Did someone say emotions? Okey, time for emotions. Get the blankets.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 73: Reason to Risk Everything

**Xera's POV**

I woke up with a warm cat-faunus pressed into my side and a soft weight against the top of my arm. My wings were still sprawled out beneath us as we lied atop the blanket of my bed, giving an even softer surface to it. We didn't really need the covers considering the subtle warmth passively radiating from my aura, so we sort of fell asleep without tucking in or anything.

It gave merit to the concept of the home always being warmer when you're there. And, when someone's missing, it just has this permeating cold lingering in its corners.

I guess phoenix can take that literally.

Carefully, I curled the tip of my free wing that Blake wasn't lying on, rolling it into my side then unrolling it back to touch the floor. It felt loose, comfortably so, like all the knots of tension vanished in a thoroughly relaxing stretch.

My other wing felt the same, despite the girl lying on it.

I had Blake to thank for that.

My golden eyes glanced around the room, peering through messy bangs as the early morning light cast its glowing veil across our floor. Rex's bed remained messy, just the way he left it a few days ago.

Before our mission into the desert.

A gray blanket lay crumpled on its surface with a slightly darker gray pillow lying against the ax man's headrest. His sheets were white, and most of his setup managed to dangle down past the sides of his bed to slightly cover the storage area beneath.

Beyond his bed, past the desk and the window, was Skyla's bed. It was neatly made, to everyone's shock since day one. Its surface was completely smoothed out, carefully so, with the top lip of her comforter folded over itself to give the end of it a clean, light purple trim. Her blanket had two sides, light purple and dark purple, the latter revealed across the top of it currently.

Her pillow was violet with black stripes running both vertically and horizontally, crosshatching it in varying lines of thickness. Lying just in front of her pillow was a worn teddy bear. Its fur was light, having aged over however long she's had it for.

Despite the length of time it's probably been in her possession, it was well-kept. It was clean, fresh, and newly sewn in several places and looked to have been re-stuffed in the past. Without a careful eye, it would've been easy to glance over the subtle fixes across its soft fur.

Allix has asked about it in the past, but no one's really gotten a solid answer out of her.

She doesn't talk about it.

Beyond the bear sat Allix's bed against the wall. The two of them shared books a lot, whenever my partner had time to read. The archer's bed had a crimson comforter lying across its surface, also neatly made. Her pillow was black with differently shaded red rectangular renderings across it in stripe patterns.

Her sheets were a deep, dark red, an almost wine-like color, but more red than purple. Half-bookshelves were slid into the storage area beneath half her bed, while the other half was reserved for actual supplies.

The fact the beds were still empty only reminded me of the situation lingering over the few of us, here, at Beacon.

We were always getting dragged into these kinds of things, it seemed.

The rest of our room wasn't much different than any other. We had a small kitchenette, a private full bathroom, a mini-fridge, two dressers, and two desks. There was a small table near the kitchen with four chairs, the only other two chairs in the room being the two by the desks.

Two closet doors were situated on opposite sides of the room, giving students an option to use those as places to hang their clothes rather than just using the dressers.

In both cases, there was a nearly door-length mirror attached to the face of each closet door.

Funny enough, I think Rex is the one to use those more often than the rest.

A very slight stir shifted by my side and I brought my attention back to the one lying with me. She was still in her black yukata, only slightly disheveled and loose. The bottom of it rode up some time during the night, showing off her smooth stomach and a lot of pale skin.

One lithe leg was wrapped around one of mine, a dangerous sight to really stare at with the creamy skin on show, leading completely up to her black panties-

_I've lingered here for too long…_

My eyes flicked back up to my girlfriend's quietly sleeping face, her cheek pressing lightly into my shoulder with one hand slightly balled up atop my chest. Her cat ears were twitching every once in a while, but not as often as one would wish since it was adorable to see.

The stirring stopped now, but I knew she was nearly awake. Her nose scrunched up ever so slightly before going relaxed again, something she usually did when she was registering her heightened sense of smell in her moments of waking.

I guess we should get up soon, shouldn't we…

I needed to check in with Dante's stalker, see how the day should go. We're just waiting for Zeridûl's rift to stabilize, which she said could take 24 hours or more, maybe even twice that.

At this rate, she was just giving us a wide range to look out for.

If it was stable, or going to be, we would set out immediately after taking the nearest bullhead.

Which all warranted a little wake-up call…

A tiny smirk crossed my lips as I leaned slightly over and clamped the tip of one of Blake's cat ears between my lips, gently putting pressure on the delicate appendage. Wasn't this something foxes did to wake each other up? I wasn't really sure.

In any case, it had the desired effect.

A quiet mewl slipped out of Blake's mouth, cheeks flushing lightly with a red hue across their pale reaches as her leg curled tighter around my own. I adjusted the pressure of my nibble ever so slightly and got her to mewl again, her cheeks dipping further into the red.

It really was adorable, but I stopped after she pulled the lower half of her body into mine, tangling out legs together further as her next breath came out a little shakily and hot.

Her arms, that had wound their way around my body, loosened a little as she nuzzled her nose into the crook of my neck.

"W-why'd you stop?" Her voice came out in a soft whisper, heavy with the same needy, meek undertone it had last night.

"Well, at that point, you were just pretending to still be asleep," I replied just as softly, letting the wing beneath her curl up and wrap her in a comfortable embrace, causing her to cuddle into me a little more.

"Maybe because I wanted it to continue," Blake muttered, her breath crashing against my warm skin.

"I'd love to if I could, but we might have to get up soon," I replied with a small exasperated sigh. Today was going to be unknown. I had no idea what was going to happen, and that brought a small thought of uncertainty to me.

Blake's grip tightened on me after I said that, her lithe leg locking around mine all of a sudden.

"Why?" She asked the small question with a different tone, dropping the meekness completely and making the neediness of it all the more apparent.

I had the feeling she wasn't asking why we needed to get up soon, so I didn't say anything. I just waited for her to continue, and when she finally receded from my neck and opened her amber eyes to meet mine, she did.

"Why does it have to be you? Why can't it be someone else for a change?" she asked softly.

I couldn't help but look away and stare up at the ceiling. It was a hard question to answer.

"I have to."

"What do you mean you _have _to?" Blake retaliated fairly. I didn't blame her, "You don't always have to be the one to risk your life, to throw it all away so recklessly. You've saved your brother, you did everything you could do, so why not let actual professionals handle what's next?"

She looked hurt, and I knew what she was trying to say without her saying it, what the intent behind her words really meant. She didn't want to see me hurt myself… not like this…

I guess it was time I told her why I take these risks.

"Do you remember that day in the Emerald Forest? The day after the dance where you and I worked together to meet my brother's demands?" I asked.

She lowered her gaze slightly, something I caught out of the corner of my eye, as she nodded her head, "Yeah, I remember. You took a bullet for me."

A light burn smoldered in my shoulder like a phantom flame, but it vanished in less than a moment, "I guess you didn't want to leave the score like that, so you ran in and returned the favor when he had me against that tree."

"You would've done the same," she replied quietly.

She wasn't wrong… I would've sacrificed my life for hers, even if I didn't know her all too well back then. Vulderak was the only reason why either of us got out of there alive. If that dragon wasn't watching us, I would've gotten Blake killed.

"I've never really told you about my past, or anyone for that matter," This time, my tone was the one to soften as I stared at the ceiling, "but, there's something I want you to know. I don't want you thinking a certain way, a way I don't want anyone to think about me."

She stayed quiet, no response coming from her as she kept her eyes on me in that meek little gaze she usually switched into whenever she was feeling a moment of apprehension. It disappeared the moment she nodded her head again, "Only if you want to tell me."

I shook my head slightly, "I do."

She kept quiet after that, so I just started talking.

"My mother passed away when I was ten. Our life wasn't really much, but memories come back to me from time to time. Just reminding me of how life was like… back before that night," my words were masked on a level of indifference that I tried to sustain, but it needed a little more effort than I was willing to give.

So, I stopped trying.

"I didn't know a lot at the time. Mom really didn't tell me much about why we lived so far outside of the Kingdoms, but I had a sneaking suspicion Zerath had an idea of what was going on. He was more aware of the world than I was," I couldn't help but smile sadly at that, "He was always the realist. I guess I took after him… after a little while."

My voice was mostly even and light. I wondered if it'd stay like that, until the end.

"I always looked up to him. I knew we weren't brothers by blood, but it felt like we were. We knew each other through and through. We knew how the other would act, where the other would go, and how to act together in the presence of others. We were seamless, in sync, and I always saw him as the big brother I wanted to become."

It didn't falter, as far as I knew.

"We were a duo… and we did everything together. We were inseparable, and what we did together was part of the reason why our family managed to sustain a healthy life outside the Kingdom. We liked to train in secret, something our mother 'found out' about. In actuality, though, I had a feeling she knew all along. So, she started training us herself too."

She always seemed to know what was going on…

"Zerath and I took trips into the city, finding our way around the lower sides of the Kingdom and finding ways to get food and supplies. We were amateurs in the art of parkour, but we got better the more we trained."

A reminiscent smirk crossed my lips without me meaning to, but I let it go as I kept talking.

"We put together these cloaked outfits, messed around with what we wanted to look like with all that. We thought we were cool, that we were untouchable so long as we stuck together. I still have the black scarf that I used as a half-mask for those years of infamy… we were pretty well-known. They had no idea what to call us. They only knew we stole what was necessary, and we never took money or belongings. We always targeted small portions of food, some materials, and occasionally clothing. So, nobody really tried to stop us."

I shook my head with a small chuckle.

"There were still some people who tried to catch us, but we were so fluent with navigating the streets of Vale at that point it was nearly impossible for them to follow my brother and I. We took the hardest paths as quickly as possible, and as the weeks went by, our training became something that was daily. We never really stopped training in our childhood, it was fun and exhilarating, and we knew it'd pay off down the line."

Those years were some of the ones I was most fond of. If only they would've lasted…

"What we didn't realize… was just how far infamy took us. We… we slipped up one night. The two of us drew the gaze of the very people we were hiding from. I didn't know it at the time, but I started to understand why my brother looked so hesitant and uncertain that day."

A flash of a bloody cabin floor swept across my vision, bodies in black padded armor and masks scattered throughout the rooms in varying degrees of burns and partial incineration. I remembered the voices filtering in through the walls, coming in from outside on that cold, snowy night.

"We got what we needed and we came back early. It was just a normal day out in the city, but neither of us realized just how long we were being watched for. We wanted to support our mother, we wanted to help our family survive… and because of that…"

Leona was too strong to go down from the forces they sent into our cabin. So, they switched to their last resort tactic… the one card they had left, and they played it.

"We led them straight to where our home was hiding."

I didn't realize it until now, but Blake had pulled herself into my side again, lying still as she listened. Her human ear was placed just where my heart was, and her cat ears both lay folded against her head… it was a nice feeling, to be held like that.

"They raided our cabin some time during the night. Zerath was dragged off somewhere outside, something I could do nothing to stop. Mom was more powerful than any of the men they sent in after us… taking out each one before they could get to me. I didn't know why, but they seemed keen on taking me too. It wasn't long before they stopped sending people in and we started hearing footsteps circling the cabin from outside in the snow."

That was when Leona took me into a closet at the center of the cabin, when, even in her final moments, she was still the affectionate mother I knew and loved.

"They primed charges on each side of the wooden cabin, and it wasn't until far later that I realized they were modified explosives designed to deal damage to those immune to fire."

They knew what we were… they knew everything they needed to know about us, and in the end, they decided our bodies were all they needed.

"I remember that night clearly, more clearly than any memory I have of my past. I remember the soft orange glow in the closet my mother and I hid in. I remember the careful and caring embrace she held me in. I remember every word she spoke to me, and with every word, I felt more and more protected by her. It was almost as if her words were merging with my own aura and protecting me against the darkness from outside as if it didn't exist."

I eventually came to realize it wasn't her words…

"I survived the explosion. It was a miracle, by anyone's standards. They found me far off to the side from the wreckage of the cabin, isolated from the cold, icy flames of its smoldering ruins. The force of the blast carried me that distance… but the feeling of that protectiveness never left me, it still hasn't. Even after I fell unconscious… and they took me with them too."

Then came the point in my life I hated the most.

"For nearly two years, my brother and I were trapped in that facility on their secluded little island off who knows where. You don't need to know what happened to us there, just know it was the place they clawed my affinity out of the deepest reaches of my soul. My link to fire, what I make use of now, was awakened during those long months there…"

My fire flared for a moment, but I found it calming back down when Blake took my hand in hers, interlacing our fingers. Another source of solace I greedily accepted.

"Zerath and I broke out before they could implant control methods in us. We had to fight our way out. It was the first time either of us truly used our affinities, and they worked in tandem with each other as fluently as we worked in the past. We nearly made it to the shores too… but they surrounded us at the final exit."

It wasn't enough.

"We made it outside, but my brother sacrificed himself to get me through to the water. I managed to find a dry log and swim out into the water as he screamed for me to go, to get out of there and never look back."

If I had the sense I did now… I wouldn't have listened. I would've turned and fought… and died alongside my brother.

"I watched them shoot my brother four times in the chest just before the ocean carried me out into its deepest reaches, and the lights of the facility slowly faded away as we drifted apart and I lost consciousness."

My brother died that night, or so I thought. I guess everything was a trick now, it seems, with how my life has led itself despite its shattered ruins of a repressed past.

"Ozpin found me at the docks of Vale a few days after my escape. I don't really remember how much time passed, but he was the one to find me and take me in. I've grown up in Beacon ever since."

It was time to tell her what all this meant, what I became… after all this happened…

"My entire life past those events has focused on one thing and one thing only. I've set out to burn the AoD to the ground. I don't care about morality with this. They threw that away when they destroyed my family. So I've been building myself up these past few years, putting myself in situations I could very easily die in. I… sort of lost any value in my life as a whole. I didn't care anymore. I figured if I couldn't handle these things, and I died trying, then I didn't deserve to avenge the death of Leona and Zerath."

Blake's grip on my hand tightened as I felt her curl up into me, and I got the feeling she understood, but I knew she'd never agree.

"I threw the value of my life away because I knew it wasn't worth living. I had no goal in sight but to bring that corporation to ruins, but I had no idea how to do it. That was really it. I didn't have any other reason to keep living."

At least… that was how my mind was during those five years, during that long period of time before starting my first year as an actual student at Beacon.

"It wasn't until recently that everything changed. At first, it was just my ridiculous team and their antics," I let out a light-hearted chuckle, even if it wasn't really that genuine, "I lucked out. My partner's the definition of individuality and unpredictability. She does her own thing, and she does it for the amusement of others."

I shook my head lightly at that. I was playing a dangerous game on a knife's edge for most of my life, and these last few years… I've been off balance. I've nearly slipped time and time again, almost sent plummeting to some uncertain but unavoidable demise on either side…

But, somehow, someway, Beacon, my team, everything that's happened within these past few months…

It's set me back on course and regained my balance.

"She helped me set my mind on other things. She was always doing things to mess with people, to bring a smile to people's faces, even if it embarrassed her in the end. She played the part of the fool for all of us to have a brighter day, and I've always had the utmost respect for her ever since."

The whole team did.

"Then you came around. I don't know why I took the chance that night when I asked you out after you called _me _out on the color of my eyes on the rooftop. I guess, because things were turning around, I wanted to reach for something. I think that was when my mentality finally started to change… because I realized something."

I looked around the room, I glanced passed the beds to my left, across the mess here and there and the clear floor, to the door and the window, then to my girlfriend at my side, at her curled up form and her worried eyes.

In the end, I was in denial about all of that. But now?

"I realized that if I kept the mindset I had, I would hurt everyone I've come to know. I'm not alone in this anymore. I've started up a new family without realizing it, and to top it off, I somehow have you caring for me too. I don't know how I got so lucky."

Blake's smile returned to her face, ever so slightly in a brief moment, but the care and sympathy in her gaze never left her eyes.

"I'm not throwing my life away anymore. It'd be unfair if I did that. But, I was the reason why Zerath went through so much, why his life was so at risk for all this time. He got captured because of me, he saved my life, and now I finally get the chance to make amends for what he did. I finally have an opportunity to return the favor."

I sat up now and Blake followed. My wings dropped down behind me, still dangling over the sides of the bed as Blake's warmth left the feathers of my left wing. I missed it, even if it was only gone for just those few ticking seconds.

"If I back out now, if I let someone else do this, to let the one thing that's tormented my brother for so long be and let it go… I wouldn't be able to call myself Zerath's brother anymore."

I needed to do this. If she didn't understand, then I wouldn't blame her. I would never blame her… for caring about me…

I was expecting her to say something, make some sort of response to all of that, but she didn't. She leaned against me and rested her knees on both sides of my legs in front of me, pulling me into a tight hug.

I guess that was what I was wanting, since I didn't hesitate to make it last.

"Get dressed and come with me," Blake whispered into my ear, pulling back and sitting on my legs, "I won't stop you. You have to do this. But," She bit her lip lightly before a moment of rare determination hardened her gaze, "I won't let you go without training you in a few things that'll save your life."

The light smile on my face happened on its own, despite the confusion alongside it, "Alright, but what about you? Don't you need to get into your room and change as well?"

She smirked and slipped off of me and to the ground, padding across the room before opening the bottom drawer of my dresser and pulling out her own change of clothes.

She planned this…

Now that I thought about it, though. It made sense.

"Oh, and Xera?" Blake's smirk grew as I tilted my head in confusion. I didn't know why, but I always liked it when she said my name, "Feel free to stare."

Then she dropped her yukata and let the fabric fall to the floor.

Now… now that was just unfair…

* * *

**Third Person**

Allix's tired gaze remained half-lidded as she stared at the scene before her. She was sitting back in the only infirmary chair that remained with one leg crossed over the other, music playing in her ears from the red headphones adorning her head.

Her dark silver eyes were both annoyed and thankful, a small trace of appreciation slipping through the colors of her eyes.

She's been pretty down lately, she's realized that.

So it wasn't a surprise when Skyla ambushed her in Rex's infirmary room and dragged her off. _That girl, I swear…_ the archer shook her head, realizing there wasn't any point in continuing that thought.

Skyla was just, well, Skyla. She and Ciel worked together to spontaneously plan and coordinate this sleepover…

But… IT WASN'T A SLEEPOVER IF THERE WASN'T ANY SLEEPING TO BE HAD!

Allix's eyes narrowed into a quiet, vicious growl that failed to wake up the other two in the room.

Oh yeah, she was annoyed alright. The intentions were nice, fair, caring, and affectionate almost… but those two seemed to feed off each other's energy.

It was ridiculous.

Like Ciel was designed to be Skyla's bestest, dearest, most awesomest friend ever.

She was never going to repeat those words… ever… even in her own head.

Before her lay a room in ruins.

It was one of those larger infirmary rooms with around six beds and curtains available to separate each one from the others. A large set of windows sat at her back that slowly began to illuminate the room in the waking light of the morning sun.

She thought she was going to be sleeping in a bed. Oh no, no that was never the plan. No beds remained standing last night. No, they instated laws that were placed as soon as the sleepover started.

Or, rather, as soon as Allix was dragged into this room along with them.

One of the rules established was that archers weren't allowed to sleep anywhere but within the direct premises of the boundaries laid out by the queens in charge.

They started with a king _and _a queen but decided neither of them wanted to be king. So, they just both became queens and ruled the dull, not vast, hill-less lands around them as sisters under the throne.

Their rule only reached as far as these short, white walls.

It was utter nonsense.

The curtains were torn from their hooks, the beds were taken from their frames, and all sheets, pillows, and everything soft and supportive, they gathered and threw into a pile in the corner. They took inventory of their findings, measured every piece of material they 'collected', and set to work with mapping something out on ten or so sketchbooks that now lay discarded in the corner to Allix's right.

All that… to build the fort Allix now sat staring at, boring a hole through its entrance with nothing more than her eyes and hard gaze.

She envisioned it collapsing in fluffy ruins onto the 'angels' inside, sleeping softly and soundly beside one another. Her own sleeping pad was pushed off to one of the corners of the vast fort on the inside, where she tried to get some sleep.

She _tried_, but ultimately failed and got dragged into an endless stream of games. Card games, board games, mind games, what was the difference anymore… there was none. It all blended together, and Allix ultimately got two or three hours of sleep.

And the worst part about all this?! They would probably be well-rested and 100% fine come the morning! But her?!

She needed her sleep, damnit!

No matter how impressively she admitted the design of the massive fort was, no matter how much architectural skill the two girls _somehow_ possessed to not only map out a sleeping area within its walls, but also a bowling alley, a swimming pool, a poker room, a miniature kitchen, and a family room with a TV… oh no, no matter how much she was impressed by _all_ of that…

She just couldn't stop wondering how long the _world _was going to _last _if those two _EVER _ruled it. She had no idea what would happen if that somehow came to fruition.

She shivered at the thought.

But no, the two young girls lay together in the sleeping room near the entrance of the fort, where Allix currently glared into. The two were curled up on their make-shift beds, right next to each other, sleeping innocently and almost appeared like little children.

Allix felt sorry for anyone who's ever made that very mistake… of thinking these two were just harmless, innocent children.

She feared for the lives of anyone who did that.

When her eyes finally left the duo at the center of the room, she glanced out the window and looked down into the courtyards and pathways below. She was just finding something else to stare at now, to take her mind to places she'd rather it linger than here.

She wasn't expecting to see her team leader walking along one of the paths with Blake at his side. The two were fully armed. Both of their weapons were connected to their backs, as they made it to a nearby building and entered.

They were entering the arena, where people went for training.

_Lucky… he looks like he slept like an angel… _Her eyes made their way back to Skyla and Ciel, _Where's my Wrecking Ball Tyro when I need him…?_

A sigh left her lips as she continued listening to her music, thinking about a world of ice cream and laws dictating everything needing to be cute and cuddly…

She shivered again.

* * *

Kitsuki woke up with a startled, silent whimper. Her mind lurched in a sharp pain, reaching for a memory just to watch it vanish and slip away. She didn't even recognize it to be a memory anymore… now that it was gone.

What was it… she didn't know. She just knew her body needed it, and it was out of reach.

Her stomach twisted in on itself as the pain grew in her head, and she pressed her ears flat against her hair as she felt a sudden rush of soothing warmth fill the void just beneath them. The twisting stopped soon after, but it wasn't like she had anything in her stomach anyway.

The flat reaches of her stomach growled at her as she pouted and looked around, large fox ears slowly rising as she noticed the sun peeking in through the single window to her right. She took a tiny hold of the edge of the blanket covering her and adjusted it slightly, before pushing into the mattress and sliding into a sitting position with her back against her pillow.

Her three fox tails returned to her after getting comfortable, wrapping around her frame as she glanced down to the empty spot on the bed beside her.

Her golden-orange eyes stared in confusion for a few moments before looking up and finding Dante sitting in a chair by her bed. His eyes currently watched a holographic news channel playing from his HoloScreen of a scroll, reading text her subconscious recognized as words playing backward and mirrored at the bottom of its projection.

Though, she realized it only appeared that way because she was looking at the visual from a backward perspective, since she was reading it from the opposite side.

"Sorry about last night," Dante said, glancing momentarily away from his scroll as he flicked it from its mute setting to a very low-volume setting instead.

Now that she was awake, he supposed it wasn't a bother anymore to keep it muted. Which meant he'd be able to listen and talk with her if need be.

Thanks to that, though, Kitsuki was able to hear what was being broadcasted. Storms seemed to be culminating across the skies throughout the majority of Vale and its surrounding villages. Discrepancies and anomalies in the weather patterns were amassing at an unnatural rate, originating from some sort of epicenter that's too clouded to accurately pinpoint.

But it sounded like the storms were originating from somewhere south of Vale.

"_It's alright. We were both scared, I guess. It actually helped." _Kitsuki signed out as she continued to listen in with her heightened hearing, something she didn't realize she actually did out of instinct rather than mentally trying.

She still retained her instincts, knowledge, and thought processes from before… it was just her memory that was scattered.

"It helped? Well, judging by the fact you haven't been reacting like you did before, I assume you don't see me in that scary form anymore?" the teen asked.

Kitsuki gave him a small nod, glancing slightly at him now before looking back to the sheets in her lap.

She missed Dante suddenly fist pump the air and silently celebrate, "Good, that's good. You haven't eaten much in a while, so Inuba's cooking you up something from the school's closest kitchen. Her food's heavenly if you've never had it before, so you're in for a real treat."

"_To be honest, I can't remember what most foods taste like. Or, what most foods are. I think I might if I saw it, but I can't say for sure," _Kitsuki responded with a meek little smile, something that brought a small, brief visual reaction out of Dante. His eyes widened for just that moment, as if realizing something.

If someone who's seemingly never had food before, let alone tasted something as delicious as Inuba's cooking, and they were to eat something on such an ethereal level such as that… without any buildup whatsoever?

He didn't know if that was a bad idea… or a good way to see if he could jog some of her senses and ability to recognize certain concepts and items.

He suddenly switched his attention to his scroll and sent Inuba a quick message, asking her to cook Kitsuki something light as well with medicinal ingredients. It was a precaution that was more than necessary, even if it was just a precautionary measure.

Something warm with medicinal herbs used as a base for its cooking was a good way to soothe the stomach while warming and satisfying the person being served. In this case, he wanted to be careful just in case the other dish was overwhelming for the little kitsune.

"Well, we'll be able to see if you recognize the dishes that'll be ready within the next few minutes. Inuba just notified me about the estimated time of completion, and it's right around the corner," Dante closed the tabs on his scroll as he shut off the projection as well, turning his attention back to the fox-yōkai on the bed, "This is going to sound weird since we've only just met one another, but I have something I need to ask of you. A small request, if you're willing to listen."

Kitsuki took a moment to wonder what Dante was going on about, but she nodded slightly at the end as she turned her ears partially in his direction.

"Please don't tell anyone about how I acted last night," Dante suddenly said, and her eyes looked up in mild confusion to see him rubbing the back of his neck, "Very few people have seen me in such a… vulnerable state, and I'd rather keep it like that."

Very few people… but, why was it so important no one knew about it?

"_I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why do you want to keep it a secret?"_

"Ehh, it's… it's not so much _wanting_ to keep it a secret. I'd rather just leave it be something nobody knows about. It's… embarrassing, to say the least. And above all that, it's a weakness I'd rather not have widely known."

At least that made a little sense to her.

"_Okay, I won't tell anyone. But what about the two people who heard you squealing last night?"_

Her innocent question brought a sudden grimace to Dante's face as he suddenly looked toward the door.

Two people… one of them had to be Inuba, he realized. But, who was the other? Someone who knew about Kitsuki being in this room, someone who knew them in person but also recognized Inuba by appearance. Or, maybe they stuck around to ask her why she was here.

That wouldn't make sense, though. This wing was locked down and blocked off from student access.

That left the faculty or even those that had the abilities to get into these portions of the school.

It narrowed it down to just a few people, but even so… that was still another person who knew.

"_If you're wondering about who it was, it was Xera." _Kitsuki signed out, catching Dante's attention and, simultaneously, his curiosity and intrigue.

"You could sense his aura?" he asked, the look of worry passing from him completely as he set that aside for the time being. And, on top of that, it was also because he knew what kind of person Xera was. He wouldn't extort such a weakness…

No way…

Would he?

Kitsuki nodded in confirmation, but she didn't exactly know why she was able to identify him, _"I wasn't able to recognize Inuba's aura signature, but I figured she would be keeping an eye on us out there. So, it made sense for her to be one of them. But, somehow, I was able to know for certain that the other was Xera. It felt… familiar. And I recognized it immediately, even after he left."_

She flashed through the signs with a look of trepidation and confusion, finishing with her last statement as she cast her eyes back to Dante to see if he had anything to say.

_Xera aside, she's definitely some sort of Seer. She saw my Shadow Skin without me using it, something only one other person I've seen do… And her Aura Sensing definitely seems to be finely attuned. Mine isn't as good as Inuba's, but she's helping me to fix that when she can…_

He moved his face closer to Kitsuki, staring at her as if he were examining her.

The kitsune reflexively leaned back as soon as he leaned in, trusting him moreso than before but not enough to feel comfortable with him entering her personal space, _"What are you doing?"_

He reached out slowly with his only good arm and began rubbing one of Kitsuki's ears.

The girl's tails suddenly whipped out and stood on end, twitching slightly as they swept back and forth against the sheets all of a sudden as she struggled to figure out what he was doing.

_"S-seriously, what are… you…?"_

Her other fox ear drooped slightly as her tongue lulled out again like it did for Ciel and Skyla, letting the final word she was going to sign out fall to her lap.

_Her ears are definitely real…_

He looked over her shoulder at her giant fluffy tail that was really a combination of three tails. He then began to rub it gently.

Kitsuki suddenly went stiff as her tails stopped moving, her small body shaking for a moment as a hot shiver ran from the tips of her tails to the ends of her ears, shrinking away from Dante's grip as she suddenly disappeared. A gentle breeze swept through the room, as if a window had cracked open, before Dante turned and saw Kitsuki sitting on her heels on the opposite side of the bed.

She had her tails in her hands, holding them against her chest as she fixed him with a cautious, flushed gaze from just over their furry lengths.

_She's definitely a Kitsune… Usually doing something like that to an illusionist or someone pretending to be a kitsune through the use of magic reverts them to their original form. The reason I even doubted it in the first place is that I find it somewhat hard to believe there'd be Kitsune on Remnant… Especially since they practically only come from Primordial unless there's another World that has them… And that just now… That was wind._

The young immortal quickly looked around the room.

_And yet all the doors and windows are closed. Xera told me about affinities… Is Wind hers?_

"Sorry about that… I was… What's the term again…? Ah, right. Appraising you to make sure you're the real deal. You don't find too many of your kind out and about. Really rare if you ask me. That makes you special."

Despite Kitsuki's fur running on end as her instincts flared still, telling her to still be cautious, she slowly loosened her tight, protective grip over her tails and signed a response.

_"Rare? Are there… not that many of my kind at all?"_ Her ears drooped slightly, wondering what something like that entailed. She didn't feel very special right now… she felt like a target.

"Well… Not here per say. Where I come from, there's tens of thousands of your kind! It's really an incredible thing! As for where I come from… well… I'm not from this World. And Reality in general. I think it's one of the reasons why a few of the others think I'm suspicious."

_"Really?" _Kitsuki asked, tilting her head again as she took in his appearance. He didn't really look all that different. Were other realities the same as her own, or were they different? How exactly did that work?

She suddenly blurred out of sight again, vanishing completely before moments later Dante found his shirt completely lifted, nearly off his head, as Kitsuki reappeared in front of him and stared at what she'd found for a few moments.

She didn't know what she was expecting to see. Maybe something that proved what he said, but everything just looked normal. So, she let his shirt fall back down as she crawled back a foot or two and sat on her heels again, regarding him with a small, disappointed look.

_"Is that really possible? I don't really know much about this world right now, so I don't really have much of a sense as to what's possible and what's not,"_ she admitted.

"Well, for starters, not everyone is completely different."

Dante said, chuckling as he fixed his shirt.

"People can be of the same variety. Or not. Some people might not exist in another Reality, but we wouldn't know that unless we really looked hard. For instance, there's a chance you might exist in my Reality. Or not. But don't get all frustrated about that. Truth is, no other Reality is fake or an illusion. They're all universes that branch off from one another. Well, mine to be more exact. Apparently, my Reality is the original Reality where everything else stemmed and branched out from it. Who knew?"

_"That sounds a little self-conceded to really think a Reality is an original. How do you know nothing's clashing with it from another angle? Or if there's something beyond what you currently understand in your own realm of thought and relativity?"_ Kitsuki responded, using words out of instinct rather than thinking too far into what she was going to respond with. It was almost as if her sign language was her primary way of speaking.

Even if she only learned it yesterday.

"Don't look at me," Dante said, holding up his hand innocently, "I only know what I know because I learned it all in The Plane of Angels. Heaven for short."

Heaven… that almost sounded like a word Kitsuki knew but didn't know anything beyond recognizing its importance. She knew it had to mean something significant, she felt that much for sure, but she had no idea what to think beyond that minor thought.

_"But isn't this Plane of Angels only in relation to the creation of your sentient Worlds? Isn't it fair to think something unrelated created the Reality you're visiting, here, right now? With a simple link between them under some unforeseeable agreement that allows those from one to exist with those in another?"_ Kitsuki asked with a confused stare. She didn't know why, but she felt a little… off, thinking that some other Creator wanted to claim credit for her existence.

"Well, The Plane of Angels is technically the first World made. The Creator just… existed. He made the Angels and all the other Worlds and Realities. The Angels were like his helpers, so they needed a home first before he could make all the other Worlds and the people who live in them. Honestly, you'd be right to be skeptical, especially hearing this from someone you've practically met only yesterday. Truthfully… I was just as skeptical as you were at first. I never really thought he existed at all. And that was mainly because of all the horrible things I experienced throughout my lifetime so far. But he's real alright. At one point… when everything seemed to be at an end… I felt him. Although he was gone for… thousands upon thousands of years… He was back… if only for a few moments."

Kitsuki slowly nodded her head, realizing her trust in his words didn't run deep enough to fully believe what he was saying. There may have been some merit to his words, and she realized that he believed them himself, every word he spoke. But, the feeling she felt before, it still lingered.

From where he's from, that logic may very well be the truth. But, she couldn't help but feel there was something different for where she currently resided. She wondered if there was something else in the making for her own Reality that his 'Creator' had no control over… but still maintained some amount of relation to.

In any case, her fox ears flicked slightly as she recognized the sound of footsteps, closely followed by an aura signature approaching from the hallway. Her little nose scrunched up momentarily as well, a new aroma filling the stale air of the infirmary room before her mouth naturally began to water.

_"What's that amazing smell?"_

"Heaven on a plate," he replied quickly with a wink.

_"But you just said Heaven was a place? How can you put that on a plate?"_ Kitsuki asked, confused again.

He laughed to himself.

"It's a figure of speech. It's so good it may as well be Heaven. What? Was my joke there that bad?"

_"A… joke?"_ she responded again, not really following.

"Humor through usage of words and sometimes physical expression. We tell or perform jokes either to relieve stress or to simply brighten up the mood a bit. Sadly, jokes are the one thing that I'm still bad at."

_"But, that doesn't make any sense. Aren't you really bad at dying?"_ Kitsuki asked genuinely, well, as much as that was possible given her sign language.

Yet again he laughed.

"That might actually be true. But you see Kitsuki… I… am immortal!" he said, proudly placing his only good hand on his hip.

_"I'm still confused… After your little sister and Skyla's partner were dragged off by Inuba, she explained to me that you died momentarily when I asked why you were on the ground. Was she wrong?"_

"Momentarily, though. I came back to life. And besides, that was because of you." he said rubbing the top of her head gently.

Her fox ears folded against her head as she closed her eyes for a moment, shaking his fingers from her hair a few seconds later as she opened her eyes again, _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill you… I don't really know how, though. Did I forget something again?"_

That thought scared her. Was her mind so fragile it was continuing to shred memories, even if they were current?

"No no! Don't think of it as a bad thing! If anything… it's a good thing, and a compliment in most cases."

_"It's a good thing… that I killed you?"_ She was even more confused now.

"Well, in my case it's okay since I'm me. But, it's good because that means you're cute."

_"How does that relate to anything?"_

Kitsuki's confusion didn't diminish, despite the door to the room opening and Inuba stepping inside. She balanced a large, rectangular silver tray with what looked like stubby legs at its corners on one hand as she closed the door behind her, regarding the two in the room with a polite smile.

On top of the tray seemed to rest two similarly colored domes of sorts. Kitsuki realized she couldn't really smell what was what, but she knew the aroma was coming from those shiny domes.

"Excuse me for coming in during your conversation. It sounds like you're getting along together." She was glad about that. It hurt her to see Dante so crushed by the simple idea of Kitsuki seeing him in such a dark way.

He was willing to do anything, endure anything, to change that.

"It's alright," Dante replied to Inuba apology, before turning back to the smaller kitsune, "But to answer your question, a lot of things. For one, it means that a majority of people will see you in a higher light. Or whatever the term is. In short, they like you more than usual."

Kitsuki turned her gaze back to Dante and tilted it again, _"I don't think I like the sound of that."_

"Why not? It's a good thing! Trust me!"

"_I don't think I want to anymore…" _Kitsuki admitted before she watched Inuba walk up to the side of her bed, resting the tray of domes down onto its surface.

So that's what the legs were for… they supported the tray on the uneven surface of the bed. It allowed it to keep its balance, despite being situated on something that could potentially shift or go uneven at any given moment.

"I hope you like it," Inuba stalled for enough of a moment to make her comment before lifting the domes from their positions above the food.

Kitsuki quickly realized they were for insulation, judging by the wave of heat that suddenly passed over her sensitive fur from the tray before her.

It all looked delicious, but Kitsuki didn't recognize anything on either of the plates.

"The one on your left is a take on a Steak Don. It has a tenderized sirloin as the main component, only I tenderized it with onions and topped it with a glaze created through wine and the juices left in the cooking pan. In the rice beneath I mixed in small amounts of picked plums for a small refreshing taste."

Kitsuki slowly nodded, her mouth speaking more words than it could ever vocalize as it watered at the very scent of the food before her.

When Dante couldn't help himself and reached forward, his hand was promptly smacked away by Inuba without even sparing a glance, prompting an "ouch!" from him as he shook his hand off.

"On the right is a carefully crafted curry with medicinal qualities due to the fresh and dry spices and herbs I used."

Kitsuki slowly nodded, reaching slowly for the nearest spoon out of instinct alone and took a small spoonful of the curry first. She was afraid of trying the heavier dish, just in case she couldn't handle it, even though every fiber of her being wanted her to eat both.

She was about to take a small sip when Inuba raised her hand to stall her, taking that moment to transfer the heat from the dish Kitsuki chose first and absorb it into a small ball of white flame.

"Your dish should be at a desirable temperature now, so go ahead," She explained, letting the flame vanish as Kitsuki nodded again.

She must have waited to see which one the kitsune would choose first before taking care of the heat within the one selected.

It was smart, at least, since it left the other one piping hot until it was ready to be eaten.

She never really got a chance to taste the other one, though…

Considering she took one bite of the curry and promptly passed out from flavor overload.

The two had a sleeping kitsune on their hands, again, and Dante got to taste Inuba's cooking.

The dishes didn't last more than four seconds.

* * *

**Kudos to anyone who knows where those dishes are from and who actually made each of them. I'll give you a hint, one was made to show another a very particular set of skills and the other was made to save a club through the use of cheap ingredients.**

**In any case, it's a good anime.**

**A little more of Xera's past has been revealed, I'll be getting to his training with Blake in the next chapter. Then, depending on where that one ends off, I'll take the characters into the eye of the storm (literally) and bring them to a rift in the currently known reality.**

**You got to see more about Kitsuki and her personality, which I hope was enjoyable. She's a curious little kitsune who tries to not feel confused, but also has a very thoughtful backing to her words and decisions.**

**This chapter was mainly for character personification and development. You'll notice there was some developments that took place for Zerath and Xera, a little on Leona when Xera told Blake about his past. The scene involving his team's room and beds was important if you happened to just glaze past that. Kitsuki had some nice developments in this too, and to top it all off, there was a nice little humorous segment involving Allix and Skyla, alongside Ciel.**

**Believe it or not, this seemingly useless chapter built up several characters and delved into some information that's important to know. So, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Oh, and before anyone makes any assumptions, no Kitsuki's semblance is not teleportation or any form of rapid or heightened movement speed. And it's definitely not shrinking to a molecular size. It's… something else entirely.**

**I'm rather proud of her semblance, so it'll be revealed at a later date.**

**Kudos to anyone who tries to guess what it is, though. I always like to see people try.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	74. Testing the Senses

**I, uh, I wrote something… I'm keeping it.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 74: Testing the Senses

**Xera's POV**

It was early in the morning, meaning the arenas weren't in use. They were more likely to be empty and devoid of life than to be active and running at a time like this. True to those thoughts, the lights were clicked off and the doors were locked in each of the arenas contained in the training building.

Behind us, the sunlight from outside slowly slipped away, the doors sliding shut as the training building proper darkened, the color draining from its walls.

My night vision took in the details, contours, and depth of everything as if I had all the light in the world to view my surroundings with, but seeing a depth of colors tended to be difficult with minimal light to reflect.

In any case, we strolled through the opening lobby and made our way into the hallway. For someone who wore boots with low heels, she managed to keep her walk to a minimal click with each step she took in this long, winding, empty corridor of darkness.

What did she want to teach me… anyway? I know I've been meaning to get a grip on dodging or countering bullets and rapidly moving ranged projectiles, and I have a plethora of other things I needed to improve on, but what did she have in mind?

"So, what do we have in store for today?" I asked idly, seeing if I could pick out a hint through whatever her response might be.

"Just something to consider, in case it ever arises," Blake replied thoughtfully, tilting her head slightly as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

Even in the low light, I still saw the glimmer of gold in her amber irises.

"Like?" _Something to consider…_

She let out a soft sigh and shook her head, "Something most people find trouble reacting to. It'll help you in the long run," she stalled for a moment, tilting her head again before looking toward me more directly, "but I'm more worried about what you'll face in that dimension."

She had a point, a good one. What we've faced until now has only been Zeridûl's strength when relying on Zerath's power and abilities. What we'll face now might be something different, entirely so, or there could be similarities.

It was an impossible judgment call to make, so I guess that's why I've let it go until now. I haven't really addressed it, but we need to prepare for anything, and if this training Blake has in mind will help with that…

Then I need to do it. If not for my own sake, then for hers and everyone else's.

We turned into a small corridor halfway down the hallway and I swiped my scroll over the interface paired with the double set of doors before us. The panel flashed purple for a moment, raining with digital lines of similar light before the entry unsealed and opened.

"Is that the AI that messaged me yesterday?" Blake asked, eyeing the fading light of the interface as we entered the dark arena.

"Yeah, she just signed the two of us in and locked the arena from all access aside from direct authorization or those we actually want to enter," I replied, the conversation between Karazil and I still fresh in my mind. I had a feeling I still didn't know how far her abilities reached, but I had a good idea of what she was capable of.

"Useful," Blake commented as the lights flicked on. The high walls of the arena were backdropped by levels of bleachers for observers, no doubt protected by a high energy field to keep attacks from reaching too far into the spectators.

For me, it was just a minor comfort to confirm they were empty.

"So, we're here," I pointed out, turning to regard Blake as she stepped forward and led me to the center of the arena. The ground was paneled and reinforced, sporting a thick grove running around its entire perimeter and white lines that crosshatched the rest of the floor in between, segmenting the panels.

"We'll start right away, but I just wanted to preface something," Blake started, lowering the light levels of the room with her scroll and shutting down all lights except for those directly above the arena floor.

"Sure, go ahead," I replied, looking around with a small worry in my eyes. I had a feeling things were going to get dark as soon as she started, which touched on a small uncertainty in my mind. Blake was a shadow user, she thrived in dark environments.

She was fully capable of getting away with anything in a dark atmosphere.

"Just laying a few ground rules," Blake said, punctuating her small statement with a small tug of her bow as she revealed her cat ears, flicking one of them at me as they basked in the free air of the arena, "Firstly, don't hold back on my account."

"Didn't plan on it," I responded evenly.

"You say that now, but I know you'll be holding back anyway. You know subconsciously that this fight doesn't matter, that neither party has any intent to kill. I can't possibly change that underlying factor, I'll probably be doing the same, but," she paused for a moment as I watched her golden eyes lock with mine, "I need you to take it as seriously as you can."

"Take it seriously, huh?" I asked with a small chuckle, disconnecting Anniva's Talons from my back. They were already in Excalibur mode, spines connected together in my longsword form as I flicked my blade into the air to flip it end over end, "I'll try. We're using real weapons, after all. But I never like hurting anyone without a reason."

I punctuated my point by catching my sword by the handle and swiping it to the side, splitting the air with a quiet slash.

Blake slowly did the same, drawing Gambol Shroud from over her shoulder as she took a step back, "It's hard to make you take things seriously, you never really see a reason to most times. But, just this once, I need you to take what happens next with everything you've got. It won't be easy."

"It never is," I replied with a smile, crossing my blade in front of myself as Blake slowly backed away further.

Blake's lips suddenly pulled into her signature smirk before she held up her scroll with her other hand and cut the lights, "I'll see you on the floor in a few seconds."

Wha-?

Her presence disappeared. No, I'm not talking about masking an aura signature or lowering one's heart rate to lessen the beat of the muscle, no… this was different. Her presence…

It vanished.

I felt like I was alone in the arena now, not a soul in the vicinity of the fighting grounds. That fact alone got me feeling a little uneasy, especially since the already silent arena sounded even more silent now. Not a drop of movement, not a whistle of a breeze, not a single ripple in this vast lake of darkness.

It was an unmoving veil of stillness… and I could do nothing to break it.

I tried to locate her heat signature through my affinity as I took a step to pivot, taking a more solid grip on my sword as I looked around.

Even that had disappeared.

I pivoted again but snapped to the sound of something pulling through the air as I whirled around, crossing my blade to counter it only to see nothing there… then lost all footing as something yanked my leg out from under me.

Its thin, metal frame immediately told me it was Gambol Shroud, which meant she was still at some sort of distance away and using her ribbons for range. It gave me a few seconds to recover, I hoped. I turned in the air, my thin frame twisting around as I flipped forward and landed in a crouch, removing the risk of what might happen should I actually fall to the floor in a compromising position.

Another sound of fabric whipping through the air caught my senses as I turned and jumped, pulling myself around a rapid incoming swing.

A taught black ribbon past beneath me as Gambol Shroud's blade nearly clipped my shoulder. I managed to roll over the attack in the air, planting my feet back onto the ground quickly after, but my feet were immediately kicked out from under me as soon as I did.

Wait, when could she-!

I made to recover again, but something caught my side and yanked, throwing me into an irreversible spin as I slammed into the ground back first.

The ceiling spun for a moment. And even in the darkness of the room, I watched Gambol Shroud descend from a vertical swing directly above me and slam into the ground at my side. Way too close for comfort, given the complete lack of space between its sharp, curved blade and my arm.

Its ribbon tethered me to the floor, and when I looked up again after seeing where it landed, Blake was standing over me, one heel pressing her ribbon down and holding it in place while the other stepped carefully over me to position itself on my other side.

She bent down, keeping both legs tensed and straight as she smiled at me, giving me another one of those smirks she liked to save for moments of satisfaction, "You did pretty well with your dodges."

This fight was stacked against me, but at least she started with the compliments, "I'm still on the floor, so my dodging isn't that great."

Her smirk slowly grew as she bent further down, something that told me a _lot _about her flexibility, as if I didn't already know. She brushed the tip of her nose into my own for a moment before she winked, "The next time I find you on the floor like this, I'm taking away an article of clothing."

I stared up into her _very _close eyes with a small trace of confusion and embarrassment, my eyes flashed orange for a moment before I cracked my own smirk, "Does that apply to you too?"

She gave me a small nod.

I had a feeling she keeps doing these kinds of things because she wants something… which only embarrassed me further, since I had a guess of what it might be. She still had her request she wanted to make after we travel into the rift, but she's kept it secret other than mentioning she wanted something.

I guess, for now, she was just having her fun with me… considering Blake just turned this fight into a striptease from both parties, "What if I decline?" I asked, wondering if there was an out.

Her smirk told me there was none.

"Then you lose your weapon instead if this keeps up."

Right. Weapon or shirt, weapon or shirt… I was suddenly glad I actually threw on one of my black V-necks today. I figured I might need to take off my sweatshirt, and the shirt beneath allowed me to do so without going shirtless.

Of course, she still had twice as many garments of clothing on as I did at the moment.

But still, it wasn't really that much of a motivation to avoid taking hits on purpose.

"What makes you think these conditions are consequences rather than rewards?" I asked up challengingly, watching as Blake's eyes glimmered with a subtle mischievousness and her cheeks reddened slightly.

I think I just triggered her trap card.

Her smirk grew as quickly as her blush rose, "Because each time either party hits the floor, the victor _chooses_ what article the other has to remove."

Oh… well, that… that changes everything.

"Why do I get the feeling this is one of your fantasies…?" I teased with a soft sigh, dislodging Gambol Shroud from the ground beside me with my arm as Blake stepped off me. She pulled me up with a careful hand soon enough, letting me move past her.

"If I started telling you my fantasies, we'd have to bump up the rating," she retaliated, sending me a glance over her shoulder as I looked back at her.

"There have already been some questionable events as of late, what makes you think that'll be any different?" I asked.

"Trust me," Blake's face burned with a brighter blush as she turned fully toward me and leapt backward, into the shadows again, "we don't want to test that."

I was too curious not to.

Her presence disappeared once again and I was left alone, as far as my senses knew. I needed to look past that, past the senses… I couldn't rely on them here, against her, against where I'm going once we head out to the rift out there.

I couldn't rely on my senses to react to something I couldn't detect through conventional means, nor could I sense through aura or heat, or lack thereof. No, this was different… and I was starting to understand why Blake felt it important to train me in such a way.

"The first run was just a test run, giving you a small opportunity to understand what was going on before I upped the level," Blake's voice sounded out from somewhere behind me, and when I turned, I knew she had already vacated that spot in the shadows, "From here on out, my attacks will be silent too."

She knew I was relying on sound to counter her previous moves… without that, this was a blind game of predictions. How was I supposed to react?

"Don't rely on your senses, Xera. You won't always be able to sense your enemy."

Her voice was almost distant that time, but I knew better than to feel relief in her seemingly far voice. With how she's been playing this spar so far, I expected there to be an attack.

There was none.

I was tense, highly tense, waiting for something to happen and knowing I wouldn't be able to realize it until it hit me… which only caused that tension to rise even more. She was playing mind games now, stalling to make it impossible to predict when she'd strike.

How does someone counter something like this?

I slowly scanned my surroundings, looking around and trying to spot the tiniest of details to see where she was or know where the first attack would come from. I needed anything to help me get a small twinge of knowledge to build off of, to get a read on what would happen next.

I turned again, tuning my sight and sense of hearing to their finest, listening for the smallest discrepancies in the air, any movement in wind or motion, anything. I was paying attention to all of it, only for something to dig into my shoulder and yank me into a spin.

Immediately, I caught my balance and turned to retaliate, only for a ribbon to snake around my ankle from the complete opposite direction… and then I lost all footing. It didn't let go until I hit the floor, hard, my hands managing to lessen the impact as the hilt of my blade crashed into the panels below.

"That makes twice," Blake's voice dipped into a soft, sultry, teasing tone as I heard the audible clicks of her heeled boots and _saw _them approach from the corner of my vision.

The ribbon was gone, so I managed to stand as she made her way around in front of me, pulling her ribbon back into her possession as she regarded me with a smirk and a satisfied, expectant glance.

"Off with the sweatshirt."

So, it was either that… or my weapon, which I haven't even used yet. I was starting to think ditching my weapon would've been better to allow me to dodge with more freedom. But, as a swordsman, my sword was an extension of myself… if it got in the way, then I didn't have any right to be using it.

I also wasn't going to let this be a one-sided battle, no… this was a fair deal, a fair matchup, despite how many odds were stacked in her favor. I needed to overcome this if I wanted to get better, if I wanted a better chance of surviving out there.

Jamming the tip of my sword into the ground, I pulled my black sweatshirt over my head and tossed it aside, discarding it to the edge of the arena. I then picked up my sword and pointed the tip toward her smug smirk.

"Admit it, you just wanted to see my wings," I commented, keeping track of where her eyes went. They were undoubtedly tracing the contours of my feathers as I unfurled them, unveiling what was most likely one of my trump cards as they extended to their full, dark wingspan, each reaching around eight feet.

"Among other things," Blake replied with a satisfied smile, turning her blade in her hand once again before stepping back.

Her comment only had me on edge even more as we started up the next round. I could use my affinity, but I didn't really want to. I wanted to train like this, to test my body and nothing more than that to see if I could react to the unpredictable, to counter something impossible to react to.

I needed that ability- no, I _wanted _to be able to do that.

In order to do that, I needed to refrain from lighting this whole place up in flames. Besides, I couldn't help but think that was cheating slightly.

I took a step back and took in my surroundings again, keeping light on my feet as I waited. The tension in my shoulders still rose, and I couldn't help but continuously turn, keeping track of my surroundings as I guarded myself with my blade for anything I could retaliate to.

Sensing something that wasn't possible to sense… how was I supposed to do that… It sounded impossible, and for all I knew, it may have been just that. It may have been an unachievable feat from the start.

Maybe she knows this… maybe she just wants to see me strip, but I doubt that. If that were the case, then it wouldn't be too far off from just asking me straight up. There was a small layer of faith here, a small belief. She believed I could do this.

Somehow, I was going to be capable of doing this.

I just… had no idea how to do it yet.

The second I turned, something whipped out of the darkness of the room before me and I managed to glance it off my sword, letting the following black, almost invisible ribbon pass me by as I spun out of the way of its return trip.

"Good read, but that was more out of luck than prediction," Blake spoke from the veil of darkness, and I turned to slash aside another strike.

"Maybe, but I happen to get lucky pretty often," I replied, turning to a new direction and keeping my focus on the space around me.

She seemed to want to prove a point, especially since I found myself eating the floor again by a blind sweep aimed for my legs from behind. I had barely enough time to get off the ground with a momentary flap of my wings, but it wasn't enough.

Her ribbons practically _dragged _me to the floor.

"Shirt next," came her instant comment, and I obliged. I tossed the black V-neck to join my sweatshirt as I got back up.

Focus, I needed to focus. I grit my teeth as I tried again, using my wings to help me step around where I thought she was striking from. If this was a game of prediction, then I needed to predict her attacks.

My reactions needed to be faster, sharper, more precise. My wings helped me with that, supporting each of my movements in such a way to build momentum instantly.

I didn't go down easy, especially with my wings out, but I tensed my jaw at the small irritation of not being able to _feel _anything around me, anything that might give an attack away.

I found myself on the ground again a few moments later.

"Pants," Blake's order was short and quick this time.

I hadn't hit her once. I hadn't even predicted a _single _one of her moves. What I managed to deflect has only been out of luck or speed, not out of prediction or reaction. I ditched the pants, tossing them with my other pieces of attire, leaving me in a pair of black boxers and my shoes, socks too if they count.

That was it. I was down to my last few lives.

I needed to focus, but how?! It was getting harder the more this went on and the more useless I felt to defend against it. I shook my head, trying to think through the irrationality of getting irritated by this turn of events as I tried to calm down.

The room was getting hotter.

"It's not always about luck or the senses, or even aura," I heard her voice speak out from two sides of me now, somehow resonating from opposite ends of the room, "Sometimes, it's about the anticipation, the instinctual reaction, the prediction, that saves your life."

Her voice now filtered in from all directions of the darkness, having me turning around slowly to regard my surroundings even more carefully. I knew that… I already knew that… but how? How was I supposed to do that?

"You need to expand your awareness, take in your spatial surroundings and recognize it, grow familiar with what's immediately around you," The room spoke to me now, her voice becoming directionless as I continued to turn on my heel, keeping to a defensive stance with my sword arm tense and held at my side, "Feel for any discrepancy, pay attention for any moment of malicious intent, even a small twinge of anxiousness you might feel or sense from another. It's your aura's way of directing you, of warning you."

I turned and something slipped past me, the familiar pull of a ribbon right behind it as I felt a blade graze past my ear. I… I didn't even feel it coming… or so much as sense it in any way. The trigger was pulled and her gun went off, rebounding back toward her as I turned to follow it, but it vanished from sight.

"Once you feel that, once you go beyond the senses and the presence of aura," Her voice echoed off the walls, and I continued to turn, trying to follow it as best I could as she paused… before I felt something wind around me.

My mind immediately thought it was her ribbons, but I was _very _much aware of how _wrong_ that thought was when I felt Blake press into my back with her arms slipped around my waist and beneath my wings.

"Once you can do that," Her voice was only her own now as she pulled me against her, and my breath locked in my throat as I felt her rest her chin on my bare shoulder and breathe softly against my ear, "you can react to _anything_."

She nuzzled her cheek against mine in that position. I knew she was enjoying herself, especially since she sealed herself against me in that warm embrace. The soft, delicate touch brushing against my cheek nearly had me distracted…

But she was right.

I needed to train my focus, hone it into something more delicate, more prepared. I needed to stop relying on sensing aura, heat. I needed to lower the reliance I held on my senses. I needed to get past that, get through it all.

My eyes closed, and after a moment, I felt her presence leave me and her hands slip from their hold around my body.

The air grew quiet, suppressing even the silence of the room as I took in a deep, slow breath. My mind needed to clear, I _forced _it to clear. All distractions were crushed and swept aside as I slowly released the air in my lungs, feeling the air around me shift with its incorporation.

Precision, adaption, tactician, reaction… I specialized in all of those. This couldn't be any different. I wouldn't _allow_ myself to believe it was _any _different than that.

I felt the weight of the air on my wings, of the pressure it place on them. I felt the absence of light as a cold chill caressed my hot skin, feeling the heat in the air as it lingered in a stasis of motionless circles.

The smallest sway, the tiniest brush of air, the feeling of pressure on my skin, it all clarified.

In slow deliberation, I carefully turned my head, feeling the small brush of air to my right. It was faint, barely there, but it felt… different. It felt abnormal. Like it was caused by the movement of something else.

The movement extended further and started to speed up, and I followed it. It circled me, carefully at first, but with more deliberation afterward. It made its way around me, and I tracked it. The small discrepancy suddenly lurched, and I raised my blade to swipe at the feeling of something pushing through the barrier of senses I built around myself.

A harsh clang ripped through the air in that single moment.

The clang was followed by something clattering to the floor, and I knew exactly where it had landed. It suddenly got yanked back, less than a second having passed since the clang, as that discrepancy began to move again.

Rapidly, I tracked it around the room as more and more lurches in its movements filtered into my mind. I managed to ready myself each time one happened, able to counter in time for her blade to pass into my immediate vicinity and through my veil of spatial senses blanketing me and my wings.

More clangs shot into the silence of the room.

Something just… clicked, in my mind. This skill, it wasn't there before, that much was certain. There was no way I was capable of this, at all, before now… but, now that I'm experiencing it, _doing _it… it feels like I've known this feeling for more than I have. It felt familiar, even though it was entirely new.

This relaxed, focused feeling, as if my body was following the actions of my mind, while my mind entered a state of awareness far quicker, far faster than what it's usually capable of. Maybe it was the dark room, maybe it was the absence of the senses, or maybe it was just Blake being the unbelievable girl that she is…

It was all of it.

My eyes slowly opened, brimming with a soft orange glow as I turned and caught her next attack. Immediately, I wound her ribbon around my wrist in a swift movement and yanked it toward me with a strong, powerful beat of my wings.

I pulled her in, tugging her from the shadows as I felt the exact moment she made a move to kick my legs out once she got close. Her end of the ribbon between us was already tightly wound around her arm, so I used that to my advantage as I took my end and caught her ankle in it.

I wrapped the ribbon around it once more and pulled her foot in, forcing her balance to shift toward me as I raised a wing to catch a right hook she pulled in desperation for my shoulder.

With her balance gone, her body already lurching forward, and her wrist caught by the tip of my wing, she stumbled into me and I caught her by the waist. Her shallow, quiet breaths were suddenly so much louder than before, more prominent in the stillness of the room as I held her against me by her lower back.

"How was that for a comeback?" I asked amusedly, our faces only inches apart.

She was still breathing hard, her eyes locked on my own now as I heard Gambol Shroud clatter to the floor, slipping from her grasp.

"Not bad?" Blake responded.

"Is that a question, or just an uncertainty…?" I replied back with a smile.

"It was," she paused and bit her lip, trailing off for a moment but not allowing her own gaze to leave my eyes, "better than I thought you'd do."

I could only smirk more, "I think I made a mistake earlier."

She tilted her head, curiosity leaving her in a position far too easy for me to kiss her in, "A mistake about what?"

"I may have underestimated you, but I take it all back now. You're far more skilled than I initially believed," I responded, letting my own sword fall to the floor as my eyes switched between purple and pink, "I'm sorry for thinking that way."

Her breathing finally leveled, but there was still an elevation to it that could only suggest a quickened heart rate, something she wasn't fighting to slow down, "I think that's what I've been wanting to hear. It… it means more than you know to me, to hear that."

"Well, I can keep stroking your ego if you want, or we can do something…" I trailed off purposefully, letting her mind wander on its own to draw its only conclusions. Her cheeks reddened again as I smirked, thinking for a moment on whether or not I wanted to drive in the final nail with my next comment. I decided to do it anyway, "Maybe continue the game, maybe do something else, I'm down to my underwear after all. Besides, I think it's _my _turn to start stripping _you_."

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly when her breath hitched with my comment and her beautiful face blushed further following it. Her cat ears folding against her head only heightened that image.

She was the one to kiss me first.

* * *

**Third Person**

Steam plumed softly from the ventilation shaft above the kitchen residing nearest the infirmary wing. White wisps spilling out into the cold air in dissipating puffs, its utilities in use.

"Ren-Ren, when are the pancakes going to be ready?!" Nora drawled, feet kicking around beneath the table she sat at as her cheek lay pressed into its surface. She was bored and she needed energy, she needed food, she _needed _Ren's pancakes!

What's taking them so long?!

"Relax, Nora. They'll be ready in a few moments. I just wanted to make a few extra this morning," Ren replied, monitoring the griddle before him by the silver stove of one of Beacon's many kitchens. Four large pancakes sizzled on it black, cooking surface.

"R-really?!" Nora's head shot up from the table with a set of hungry eyes boring into Ren's pink apron, "Ren! You never make me extra… what's the catch?"

Ren's long ponytail swung slightly in a soft drift as he turned to regard his partner, mentally timing the pancakes on the griddle as he fixed her with his own, albeit much softer, pink gaze, "The catch is that they're not for you."

"W-wha?! Ren, don't lead me on like that… my heart can't take it!" Nora cried out in a meek voice, clutching at her chest before falling into her arms on the table, resting her head there.

"Your stomach can take it," Ren replied evenly, but with a small trace of amusement in his stoic voice, "They're for a new arrival."

"New arrival?"

Ren's small nod was missed by Nora since she had her face buried in her arms. Four pancakes were soon flipped as Ren checked each surface carefully, cooking each one to a deliciously golden color with a fluffy consistency to die for.

Well, as Nora often put it.

"Apparently, she's never really had food before, so I was requested to cook her something simple," Ren clarified, letting the pancakes cook now during their final stages of delicacy.

"How can she never have had food before? Wait!" Nora suddenly sucked in a gasp as she shot up again, "She's an immortal too! That's so not fair!"

"I don't think that's the case," Ren responded with a smile, shaking his head slightly with a soft sway in his ponytail, "She may have a case of amnesia, but a special grade of it."

"Amnesia…" Nora slowly drew out the word, lightly testing it on her tongue before her tone suddenly dipped into a realm aside from her usually boisterous peppiness, "How much do you think she remembers?"

"I was told she remembers nothing, but she catches on quite quickly to everything she's been presented. She just needs triggers of sorts to help her remember, or at least draw on her instincts and subconscious to help her recognize the new feelings again," Ren explained, checking the underside of each pancake with a swift, skillful eye and calculating only a few more seconds to go.

"Aww, that must be hard," Nora replied softly, playing with her plate now as she waited. She lifted the side of it, then let it fall to the table, refraining from sliding it around too much as she waited, "I can't imagine what might be going through her mind right now."

"It's safest to just help her as much as we can. She's likely scared, or nervous about a lot of things, so I'm going to have to ask you to do something. I know it'll be hard, but I want you to try," Ren flipped the remaining pancakes onto the stack to his right, towering unnaturally high into the air of the kitchen atop the serving platter he set there.

"Aye! I'd do anything for you, Ren-Ren." Nora was in a mock salute all of a sudden, getting another short shake of the head and a small smile from the one she addressed.

"Don't coddle her. She probably wants to do a lot of this on her own. If she requests for help, then we'll give it to her. Otherwise, leave her be," Ren turned off the hot griddle and let it cool down, turning to Nora now and witnessing her jaw drop, then open… then drop again.

"B-b-but… but, but Ren… I can't watch a girl struggle! It's not right!"

Ren held up his hand, "I know. But it's best she gets used to doing things on her own than accepting help from others and not learning to do the things herself."

Nora's bottom lip was quivering, but she soon nodded, albeit reluctantly, "Okay, I… I can do that."

"Good," Ren turned and swiped the serving platter into his possession, skillfully balancing it on his left hand as he made his way over to the table. He made sure to grab an extra plate and silverware set along the way as he set the platter at the table's center, then set another placemat for their new arrival.

The setup totaled to five plates, and as soon as he set the platter down, the last two members of their team entered the kitchen door with a thin layer of sweat sheening over their skin. Well, one moreso than the other.

"How did the training go?" Ren asked, untying his apron as he set it on the counter behind him and took his seat next to Nora.

The girl had already, but depressingly, began to dig into a stack of five pancakes on the plate before her, syrup dribbling down their layers.

"He did very well," Pyrrha said with a smile, setting Miló and Akoúo̱ down against the wall by the door as she made her way inside.

"I think I'm getting better, but only time will tell, I guess," Jaune filed in after her, doing the same with his sheathed sword as they took their seats opposite Nora and Ren.

"He's being modest. His skills are far more refined than when we first started training, leaps ahead of where he started," Pyrrha commented, pulling two pancakes from the stack before Jaune pulled three for his own plate, chuckling sheepishly as he did so.

"I suppose he has. I'll just have to see the next time he enters combat," Ren replied, his own stack of three now in front of him as he drizzled his pancakes with a small amount of syrup.

Ren watched in mild satisfaction as the members of Juniper dug into their pancakes, each relishing in varying degrees of bliss before taking a small bite from his own plate. He enjoyed cooking for his team.

It wasn't because he was the only one on the team who could actually cook. No, that reality fell through as soon as Jaune made it known that he was a master chef as well. Seven sisters and a mother would do that to a guy.

Jaune was usually too busy, so Ren found the opportunity to take up the cooking mantle and keep his team fed whenever they didn't feel like eating cafeteria food. It's always a nice treat, healthy too, to do that. Of course, though. His cooking was something he took a lot of pride in, and for other people to enjoy it…

It made it all the more worthwhile.

Halfway through breakfast, Ren turned toward the door after noticing something new out of the corner of his eye. He's been keeping an eye on the door since the beginning, but he was surprised to suddenly see the new girl walking in.

Kitsuki padded into the kitchen while rubbing her eyes, blearily looking around with a half-lidded gaze as she took in the new faces, two of which were looking at her now. Jaune and Pyrrha were still in a light conversation, neither noticing her entry, while the other two looked up at her from their plates.

Ren had a welcoming smile… Nora had pancakes falling from her mouth with how fast her jaw suddenly dropped to the floor.

Her eyes suddenly teared up again as she started tugging on Ren's sleeve, begging him to change his mind, to take back the deal.

"Good morning, Kitsuki." Ren's voice was soft and gentle, but he knew not to belittle her with a voice toned for a little girl. It was more for politeness than anything else. She was sixteen, rather short since she stood at 5'2, and she had an elegantly developed body.

Nothing about her was exaggerated, save for her larger fox ears and three white fox tails. She was more lithe and curvy, taking on a more forbidden attractiveness to her appeal rather than something to be sought after.

She was someone you wanted to protect, and Ren had to stop himself from giving into Nora's quiet pleas to allow her to take back her word.

No matter how many times Nora said she'd give up pancakes if she had to for the chance to take care of a girl like this, he had to remain firm with what he mentioned earlier.

Kitsuki's golden-orange eyes drifted over the table, now taking in Jaune and Pyrrha's own mildly startled faces as they realized her new entry.

She was still in her black short-shorts and thin, light blue sweater. She made her way over here without any shoes on it seemed, considering the white ankle socks on her small feet. Her hair was straight, having been brushed by Inuba after she woke up from the food overload. Her tails were groomed as well, but she reserved that process for herself once she figured out how to do it.

"_Are you Ren?"_ She signed out questioningly, giving the one in question a careful, cautious, and slightly nervous look.

Ren's warm smile remained as he nodded his head, "That would be me. This is Nora, and those two are Jaune and Pyrrha."

"Hello," Pyrrha greeted kindly, a similar greeting coming from Jaune as Ren held up his arm, Nora dangling from it now as she continued to try to quietly convince Ren to take back the request.

Each greeting was met with a shy wave from Kitsuki, keeping to only small gestures for now. So far, only Ren seemed to be able to read sign language. She wasn't sure about anyone else yet.

"The last few pancakes are for you, we'll eat whatever you can't manage," Ren informed, gesturing to the end seat to his left and drawing Kitsuki's tired gaze to it. The girl nodded softly before making her way over, her three tails held firmly together behind her in a gently flowing wave of white fur.

Ren had to slap Nora's hand away from trying to reach over him to touch it, holding his partner back as Kitsuki took her seat. She locked her ankles together after doing so, watching as Ren placed one pancake on her plate for now and slid the syrup her way.

After the fiasco earlier with the previous dish where she managed to only consume a single bite, Kitsuki eyed the pancake with a small skepticism as she felt a gentle heat radiate from its golden surface.

"Ren's pancakes are some of the best. I can assure you they'll taste nothing short of heaven," Pyrrha commented, keeping her own voice to a level of kindness that usually brought giants to their knees.

"_Dante made the same comment about Inuba's cooking, but that was a little too much for me," _Kitsuki signed back, getting a facial 'oh' out of Pyrrha before she quickly looked toward Ren.

"I'm sure these pancakes won't have as much of a kick as you've probably experienced, right?" The redhead directed her question to the chef in the ponytail.

"I cut back on some of the sugar used and made sure to incorporate ingredients for a softer, more gradual buildup of taste rather than an immediate impact," Ren replied, getting a supportive nod from Pyrrha and Jaune to back it up.

Nobody seemed to take notice of Ren's hand placed firmly on Nora's head as she pushed, punched, kicked, and flailed against him trying to make it past his seat and to the kitsune at the end of the table.

Kitsuki's slow nod had the three people's attention before her, and she quietly took up her fork and knife and managed to cut herself a small piece of pancake. She took up the syrup as well, careful about pouring it since she wasn't sure how it'd taste.

Ren saw this, so he slid a small ramekin her way, something to fill with syrup and use for dipping instead.

Kitsuki filled it, keeping the two sugary delicacies separate for now before taking the small piece she cut off onto the end of her fork. With a small dip into the syrup, she slowly brought it to her lips as the room fell into a silent, rising anticipation.

Golden-orange eyes closed as Kitsuki delicately opened her mouth and took her first bite. The sweetness hit her first, immediately followed by a fluffy warmth passing through her entire being. Her tails immediately shifted into a momentary whipping motion, leading all eyes to take notice of her fox ears bouncing and perking straight up atop her head.

She chewed quietly, savoring the taste only for her tails to go rigid and her expression to go relaxed.

Ren was the first to react… when the kitsune passed out again and fell forward.

"Another bust," Ren muttered, berating himself for making something too tasty for the kitsune. He felt he did a good job keeping everything mild and gradual, but maybe that wasn't the case here. It was all new to her, so the foreign taste must have been enough to set her off.

"It's alright, you did a wonderful job making the pancakes in such a way to take a gentle approach," Pyrrha spoke up supportively.

"Yeah, the impact was suppressed in such a way to make the buildup all the more tasteful. But, I think because of that, you only amplified some of the effects you were trying to get rid of," Jaune commented as well, cutting into his last pancake as Ren looked back at him.

"That was not my intention, but I suppose it was just an oversight I missed," The stoic chef replied as he set Kitsuki back in her seat and stood up, "Pyrrha, would you mind watching Nora for me? I'm going to carry Kitsuki back to her room."

Pyrrha didn't need to be told twice, considering she already had Nora in her iron grasp. Somehow, she managed to do so without even getting up from her spot at the table…

"Sure, don't drop her on the way back," Her voice was both worried and amused, both of which were due to Kitsuki's reactions to yet another overbearing dish.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ren shook his head with a small smile as he took the young kitsune into his arms, holding her bridal style as he let Kitsuki's head lull against his chest with drooping ears, "When I get back, I'll start working on a dish for her to try."

"I'm sure you can come up with something. I noticed Inuba has been doing the same this morning as well."

"Good to know," Ren replied seriously, "I have competition then."

He then made his way out of the room, careful with his hold on Kitsuki as he made his way back to her infirmary room.

His determination only grew with the realization of someone else competing against his culinary skills. It was time to see who could cook Kitsuki a dish worthy of her innocent taste buds.

It was time to see who the better chef was.

A shokugeki was in order.

* * *

**A shorter chapter this time around since this small break is coming to a close. Next chapter, or the one after, will be re-entering the plot of the following arc. Prepare yourselves now, but I'll hopefully be able to ease back into it once I bring it back around.**

**Anyway, I find this little concept to be a pretty entertaining thought. Ren's cooking vs Inuba's, both of which said to be the standards of heavenly flavors. However, the winning dish won't be the one to **_**amaze **_**the taste buds. Oh no, it'll be the one gentle enough for little Kitsuki to eat and stay conscious.**

**She's never eaten food before, or so her mind thinks.**

**Remember the reference from before? About an anime I mentioned and the food, and where it was from? It was from an anime called 'Shokugeki no Souma'. I recommend it, but I have to warn you, it shows you what to expect during the first episode.**

**It just unloads everything it has on you, then everything past that is of a milder standard. It's toned down after the first showing. So, if you want to give it a chance, go ahead. It's a great anime, including the recently released second season.**

**I get to host my own shokugeki next chapter too! You'll see what it is, if you don't already know or haven't figured it out, in the next chapter!**

**Heh, I bet you forgot about Blake and Xera. Or, maybe you didn't… and you've been waiting for me to say something about it.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	75. Shokugeki no Xera

**Ehhh, I mean… well… maybe I should just let your minds freely wander and make assumptions. You'll see what I mean. All it takes is a simple read of the first scene right below…**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 75: Shokugeki no Xera

**Xera's POV**

"You know, Zerath and I saved this tiger cub once?" I reminisced, lying back on the floor of the arena with my wings sprawled out beneath me, acting as a cushion for the floor.

"Usually tigers avoid the forest," Blake responded, cuddled into my side. Her weight on my wing wasn't much, but I'd rather not have either of us lie directly on the arena ground.

"Usually, but something drove the ice tiger and its cubs from the mountains," I continued, staring up into the darkness of the ceiling and mapping out the detailed reaches of its rafters and beams. Blake's head rested against my shoulder again, both of us were fairly worked up after our spar and needed to cool off a bit.

It wasn't that hard, really, since we were down to our underwear.

"Grimm?"

"Animal hunters," I said, remembering the scene clearly, "It was cold out that day. Zerath and I were training in the woods, hopping from tree to tree and falling into the snow whenever we slipped. We found ways to grip icy surfaces, free run across high branches, that kind of thing. But, the stillness of that day broke when we heard a gunshot from the direction of the mountain."

Blake didn't seem surprised by the matter, considering the skin of a tiger was priced unbelievably high in a world like this. All animal hides tended to be valuable considering most animal hunters were restricted due to areas infested with grimm. Similarly, some grimm made it a sport to kill other creatures in order to take territories in the areas outside the kingdoms.

It wasn't an easy hunt, it never was.

"We tracked the noise, taking the quietest path we could. We made it there in about an hour and a half to two hours. Sound carried pretty far at the base of Mount Kenna and in the woods surrounding it."

"You were too late," Blake realized, getting a small nod out of me.

"They killed the mother and dragged her off somewhere. We saw lines of blood on the ground, soaked into the snow around where the largest body lay. About three smaller stains riddled the forest floor from where they killed her cubs too," A brisk, icy smell of snow and blood drifted through my senses when I remembered the scene before me. I was only three at the time.

"There was a fourth, wasn't there…?"

I nodded again, "The fourth one was spared, curled on the ground at the center of all the blood. Zerath guessed they left it to grow up in the woods, to eventually have its own cubs as well… just so they'd have something to come back to."

"That's the harsh reality of hunting," Blake spoke quietly, shifting slightly at my side to pull herself a little closer, "It makes sure you still have creatures to hunt in the future."

"True, humanity's survival has always been the priority throughout the ages," I had my arm wrapped around Blake's side, a constant reminder of her smooth, pale skin beneath my fingertips. My mind seemed keen on taking this all in… in fear that I'd never have it again.

Maybe it was right to think that.

"Zerath and I picked the small cub up from its mother's blood. It tried to lash out, but it didn't have the energy to. It could only growl in a high pitched little roar at us, swiping at the air as it looked at us with nothing more than hatred and fear."

"How long did it take for it to tell you apart from the hunters?"

"A couple weeks. It didn't trust us, it had every right not to," I replied, before continuing, "We took it back to the mountain and found a small cave near its base. After that, we brought food to it every day, taking two or three hours out of our training to trek through the woods. Thankfully, it began to realize being in that cave meant it'd get the food it needed to survive since it was still too young to hunt on its own."

"You two took care of it…"

"We did. We grew up taking care of it and watching it grow, until the day we went back to the cave and found it snowed in. It didn't take long to clear out the snow, but the cave behind the fallen wall of debris was empty. We went back each day after that, but the ice tiger never came back to the cave."

"It doesn't take long for a tiger to develop enough instincts to start to hunt on its own. It's likely it just finally realized it had to start being independent rather than depending on you two for food," Blake commented, something Zerath and I realized after a few days of coming back to an empty cave.

"We thought that too, so we stopped heading out there. I never saw the tiger again until around five years ago," Zyther was one of the main reasons why I got over Leona's death.

"So, it survived all these years," Blake realized, and I confirmed with another nod.

"She's as strong as ever now with her own territory up on Mount Kenna. None of the grimm go too far up the mountain solely because she's up there."

"Sounds like she can take care of herself."

"You have no idea," I replied with a smile, glancing to the side to see my scroll sitting on the ground beside us. The glance prompted Karazil to project the time into the air above it in bright purple text, along with whatever notifications I had right under it.

"Wait," Blake leaned up a bit, golden eyes glancing past me as the list suddenly stopped scrolling through my missed messages, "Ren did what?"

"Looks like Ren declared a shokugeki against Inuba," I muttered.

"What's the mutual agreement from both sides? What does he have to gain?" Blake sounded as confused as I felt, but I knew Ren took a lot of pride in his cooking, maybe Inuba threatened that small part of him.

"Guess we'll find out, I've been requested to be a judge… apparently. Why me, though? Not like I've taste tested too many things before," I commented after seeing the message directly under the shokugeki notification.

"Oh, sure, like you've never cooked anything delicious before," Blake rolled her eyes, sitting up now and pulling me up with her.

"I learned from my mom," I replied with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Well, whoever she learned it from must have been a divine entity. Now, come on, you're a judge and judges can't show up to a competition as sweaty as you are now," I had to keep my eyes from being greedy, even though she would've like that, as I watched Blake stand and I quickly followed, letting my wings droop to the floor as I collected our clothes.

"I'll take a quick shower, it's not like it's going on right now," I commented, slipping my sweatpants back on.

"Your version of quick is three songs from your scroll, which takes, on average, nine to ten minutes anyway," Blake chastised as she began throwing on her own clothes.

"Hey, timing my showers to songs isn't that bad. Besides, showering in silence is just… weird." I spoke that last word with a mild shrug, knowing most people showered that way anyway.

"In the interest of time," Blake paused for a moment and took out her own scroll, reading through her own message notifications quickly before stopping on one and glancing at me with a cat-like gleam in her eyes, "and knowing the shokugeki is scheduled for five minutes from now, someone needs to make sure you don't get lost in there."

"Wings aren't the easiest to clean, you know," I replied, throwing on my sweatshirt now.

She gave me another glance after throwing her top on, pulling the form-fitting article over her lithe frame, "Then maybe you need an extra set of hands."

"The showers in our rooms aren't exactly the most spacious," I pointed out, cheeks going red and eyes going orange. How was I supposed to respond to that?

Blake's mischievous smirk soon formed with a quiet purr rumbling in her voice, "Then I hope you don't mind if I get a little touchy."

Any ordinary man would say yes in a heartbeat, any shy man would say yes after a rather reluctant struggle…

For a phoenix, the wings only grew more sensitive under a hot stream of water.

It was a trap. A very, very tempting trap… and I was already caught in its paws. It was for the sake of efficiency, or so she said.

I had half a mind to believe her.

* * *

**Third Person**

"Alright!" Skyla's voice climbed high into the air of the large room somewhere in Beacon Academy. She had no idea where she was or how she got there, but she was excited and her amethyst eyes were shining at center stage.

"Are you ready for the greatest shokugeki Beacon has ever seen?!" Ciel called out at her recently found best friend's side, both girls wielding deadly loud microphones with splitting smiles of pure, unadulterated glee.

"A battle between chefs hasn't been held here for fourteen years, but with the room recently cleaned and the food laid out at the adjacent stations," Skyla continued, waving dramatically in wide gestures to the assorted goods and the two contestants standing at each station.

"It will certainly be one for the ages!" Ciel finished, gesturing the other way.

They stood at the center of a raised platform, square in shape and surrounded by a sea of stands. A glowing, black scoreboard hung thickly from the ceiling, its four sides illuminated by holographic screens each panning around the stations below.

Four images, all separate, were transmitted into the feed as four observation orbs gravitated around at a safe distance, their silver panels rotating and sliding over one another as their interiors glowed a powerful lime green.

"IS EVERYONE EXCITED?!" The two called out in unison, looking eagerly into the empty stands and the dark seats, all the way up to the far walls as each row was inclined up until reaching the furthest ones back.

Well, mostly empty.

In one, singular section sat their inner circle of friends and all those who were actually aware of the happenings as of late.

Allix gave her teammate a double thumbs up from her seat beside Ruby, the young reaper giving the two announcers center stage an excited nod for her own support. The rest of the scythe wielder's team sat to their left, Yang and Blake holding two flags each that were fluttering back and forth as they waved them.

One was white with a black outline, a crimson eye of a fox designed into the front and back with what looked like ears protruding from the back end of the flag itself. The other was a dark green flag bordered by a black trim, a pink lotus designed into the front and back of it with a pink stripe running down the center as well.

"KICK HER FLUFFY BOOTY REN!" Nora hollered, hands cupped around her face to call out even louder as she nearly fell over the wall in front of her. If Leo hadn't been at her side, she undoubtedly would've fallen over the tall spectator wall to the ground and stations below.

Behind Nora sat Pyrrha with CFVY and SNAR sat at her other side.

"I can't see anything, but even I know who's going to win this," Rideat commented from his seat, arms crossed dangerously over one another as his metallic arm reflected a bright shine from the lights centralized above.

"No way, Ren's got this in the bag!" Nora countered, throwing her fist into the air, "Come on Ren, you and Jaune don't have weekly cook-offs for nothing!"

"We believe in you, Ren!" Pyrrha called out as well.

"Oh, please," Coco muttered, arms crossed and one leg resting over the other, "By comparison, the kitsune holds much more grace and delicacy in her culinary skills than the lotus."

"I don't know, they both seem equally likely to win," Velvet spoke up from beside her.

"Don't be so quick to equalize here, Velvs," Rideat cut in from Velvet's other side, "Inuba has the advantage here."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Velvet retaliated, turning her gaze to the hyena-faunus as Coco lowered her sunglasses, leveling chocolate eyes on the rabbit-faunus, "The goal here is to cook Kitsuki a dish crafted in such a way to help her eat and digest it without a problem, but keep it flavorful and pleasant as well. There are a lot of unknown factors here."

"To add on to that," Leo spoke up from a few rows down, eyes trained up to the teens in their seats with one hand casually gripping Nora by the back of her collar, "Both parties of this cook-off are undoubtedly skilled in their culinary fields. But this is a very unique set of circumstances, and in the end, it can be either one's victory here."

"The squirt's right, but he's a little off about one itty bitty detail," Yang waved her hand dismissively, twirling the flag Blake handed to her around her fingers as she fixed the white-haired sibling with a challenging smirk, "Ren's cooked for commoners, Inuba's probably had a higher focus on cooking for royalty, there's a difference in their audiences."

"Yang has a point," Ruby perked up, "You don't cook the same dish you serve to a civilian just looking for a nice meal at a diner than you'd serve to a princess and the throne. They're two very different outlooks."

"They're right," Allix added, "Food at a diner is meant to be family friendly, filling, and satisfying. Food for an upper class has a different purpose. They build their food to amaze and tantalize the taste buds, giving them larger varieties to choose from rather than keeping things simple."

"Inuba has experience cooking to those of all classes. She's cooked for family, for guests, and friends of all varieties." Leo informed, "However, you make a good point. I guess the match will be the only way to tell who will win this encounter."

All eyes turned to center stage again as a flash of white light emitted from between the two girls staring up into the stands.

"I heard announcers, where are they and what do they look like?" Ashton's voice suddenly filled the stage, a reflective white suit glimmering beneath the centralized spotlights from above as he swept his gaze around.

He felt a disturbance in the world of announcers… new arrivals, so to say. He felt… challenged.

"Oh, hi~" Skyla waved back at him as she stepped to the side, Dante's little sister stepping to the other side as she waved at him as well.

"What's up dude in a tuxedo? Trying to upstage us?" Ciel asked, a layer of intimidation piercing through the tone of her voice.

"Ah, so it's you two," he realized, white speckled, dark blue eyes glanced over the two young girls before him as he took his stride forward, "I believe it is _you _who is upstaging me. I funded this room and designed it, is it not fair to want to announce in it as well?"

"Weeeell," Skyla drew out as she tapped her head with the microphone, "Is it fair to want a game of checkers when you're hungry?"

"Exactly!" Ciel jumped in, "What you say makes no sense whatsoever, mister tuxedo."

Ashton shook his sandy blonde hair as he crossed his arms, "You have me beat. You're right, looks like I'll have to sit this one out. However," He leaned down, a smirk chiseled by pride and success stretching across his face as he glanced at each girl individually, "You two need a mentor, do you not?"

"Pfft, I've seen enough of Shaxx's highlights to know how to announce," Ciel waved her mic dismissively.

"Hmm, you know Shaxx?" Ashton asked, getting a quick nod from the white-haired girl in front of him. He straightened himself back up as his smile grew, "Did you know we were rivals in the League of Announcers?"

Ciel's eyes went wide, "You two know each other?!"

"Of course, we both grew _fascinated _with shout casting. It was only a matter of time before we developed our own styles and began to compete with one another." Ashton's response was two parts reminiscent but one part frustrated, "I still remember our score. It's 561 to 561, a dead tie."

"You two competed over a thousand times?!" Skyla's astonishment fell off as quickly as her mic hit the ground, but she was quick to pick it back up.

"Would've been over three, but the officials were sticklers about the rules of an official shout cast. Those were only the official ones." Ashton responded, tapping his chin with his finger for a moment before glancing to the two contestants, then to the two in front of him, linking all the stray facts to conclude what was going down on stage this morning.

"I still don't believe it…" Ciel trailed off, sounding a little unsure on whether or not this was all true, "He's a living legend."

Ashton hummed, fixing the girl with another of his classic smirks full of pride and self-esteem, "Young girl, hasn't anyone ever told you," He leaned back and turned slightly, showing everyone his good side as he flashed a cool smile, "all announcers know each other?"

Ciel needed to remind herself later to ask Dante about all this.

"That aside," Ashton continued, giving the two a courteous glance before nodding toward the long table positioned down a walkway at one edge of the raised platform, located beneath an archway overhang with its own set of lighting, "Have you introduced the judges yet?"

"Oh!" "Right!" The two girls quipped before turning to the stands and making opposite gestures with their hands, falling into a decent synchronization as they addressed the small crowd again.

"Please, welcome our most esteemed judges! On the far left is the weapon forger we've all come to know and love, he's Xera Stark!" Skyla announced, gesturing to the table now as a line of four individuals made their way out from somewhere behind the scenes.

"Next to him sits my very own brother, a slayer of beasts, monsters, devils, gods, and women alike, he's Dante!" Ciel added, causing Dante to pause a moment in his stride as he fixed her with a glare.

She ignored it.

"Next is the heiress herself who's tasted hundreds of dishes in her spare time and the possessor of the Silver Tongue when it comes to taste, she's Weiss Schnee!" Skyla continued, leading fluidly into Ciel's voice.

"And finally, we have a boy who grew up with seven sisters and an overly fond mother, he started cooking at an impressively young age and mastered it earlier than most, he's Jaune Arc!" Ciel gave the final announcement as Jaune stepped out from the final lineup, all judges taking their seats a moment later.

The central seat remained empty.

"Now, as administrator of this esteemed academy," Skyla spoke out across the dark stands of the spectators.

"We have a very special judge here this morning," Ciel continued flawlessly.

"He drinks his coffee black and has a knack for being intrigued about absolutely everything…" Skyla continued.

Ciel picked up where she left off, "He's the headmaster of Beacon Academy!"

"Ozpin!" The two announced simultaneously as the clicking of a cane tapped into the tense stillness of the mostly empty room, the headmaster himself making his way to the central seat as he took a moment to look around at all involved parties.

"No shokugeki will be allowed to be hosted by my school," He spoke stoically, resting his cane on the edge of the table as he took his seat, "without me being the judge of it myself." He then gestured toward the two young announcers, "Carry on."

The two girls nodded and turned to Ashton, each getting a supportive double fist bump from him as he nodded to the two competitors, prompting their announcement next.

"As two of you may know, not counting the stalker in the white cloak up in the corner, our contestant in white here is of foxy descent in both heritage and looks. She dukes it out with the forces of evil by day and tends to my brother's hungry stomach by night." Ciel's roundup was proud and teasing as she announced her competitor, gesturing toward the one in question, "She specializes in the art of the heavens and has mastered the skill of using her control over white flame to assist in her cooking. She's Inuba Kitsukami!"

"And in the other corner is the tactical genius behind fluffy clouds and the sweet, delectable honey of syrupy goodness. He's leveled his cooking skills since the day he could hold a ladle and hasn't stopped since, cooking for not only his own team but several others in his endeavors here in the kitchens of Beacon Academy." Skyla's own roundup was just as proud as she fixed the crowd with a large smile, gesturing toward the second competitor, "They may both wear ponytails, but I can assure you, this one's hair is more cool than delicate. He's Lie Ren!"

Aside from the light snickers in the crowd and quiet giggles and murmurs, applause erupted from the small student body that was present as the two competitors fixed one another with challenging gazes.

"I believe a good luck is in order," Ren commented, tightening his ponytail before resting his hands on his hips, pink apron shining cleanly at his front.

"You have my thanks, and I return the wishes for you as well. I hope to see us both winners," Inuba responded, giving Ren a polite smile.

"In this kind of situation, it's impossible to tell. I don't even know why we have judges… this is for Kitsuki," Ren replied, letting a small sigh escape his lips.

"Ciel does get a little excited about these kinds of things. She may have gone all out without meaning to," the kitsune replied with an equally exasperated breath.

"I see," Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at his announcers, "With the incorporation of Skyla, this outcome is actually expected."

"I have taken notice of their similarities early on," Inuba noted, "It's quite uncanny."

"You have no idea." Ren's reply came with a mild shiver, but he got over it as he turned to his station.

The two had identical setups, mirroring each other in both ingredients and cutlery, down to the chef's knives used and the pans in the silver cabinets.

They had everything they needed.

"To truly see a test of skill between these two," Ciel started another announcement.

"We'll be setting a theme for this face-off!" Skyla finished.

"As unanimously decided by the judges after weeks of debate, a final decision was made just a few minutes ago!" Ciel rebounded once again, allowing Skyla to pick up.

"We know you've been awaiting this day anxiously ever since it was announced a month ago, but fear not, the hype is here and it's higher than ever!" the purple-bandit proclaimed.

The decision was actually decided in a few minutes… and the shokugeki was only announced to those in this inner circle thirty minutes before it was actually scheduled to start.

"The goal is simple! See that kitsune sitting in the totally throne-like chair behind our headmaster?" Skyla pointed dramatically toward the kitsune in question, causing her to drowsily perk up her ears at her name being called and curl up into a ball in her large, oversized seat.

"Each dish needs to be tasty, but not knock you out tasty! It has to be simple but still possess a mild flash factor! These are the qualities all the judges will be looking for!" Ciel continued, now also dramatically pointing beside her announcing partner.

"The theme with be this!" Skyla whirled around and snagged something small and white from a carton at one of the stations.

"Each contestant must use eggs as their main ingredient for their dish! It's simple enough to be done in a bland way, but complex enough to be incorporated as the main ingredient into countless tasty masterpieces!" Ciel's dramatically pointing finger now leveled itself on the egg Skyla held high above her head.

"The egg is the most versatile ingredient of the culinary world! The possibilities are endless here!" Skyla added before tossing the egg to Ciel, who caught it in a deft, gentle grasp and dropped it back into its original carton.

"You two have thirty minutes," Ciel announced on her way back to Skyla's side.

"Prepare yourselves," Skyla tacked on as the two aligned themselves beside each other once more.

In a dramatic pause, the two looked up simultaneously to the holographic screens above to see timers appear on each one, each shining over a blaze of white and pink digital fire as the clocks displayed thirty minutes across the board.

"Begin!"

Ren and Inuba immediately began collecting their ingredients, having already thought of recipes they thought would do well in such a particular situation. Each of them only took five minutes to gather everything needed and began working toward their individual goals.

Both contestants pre-heated their ovens and set aside their eggs.

"They appear to be taking the baking route!" Ciel noted, glancing up to Skyla who now stood atop her shoulders to get a higher view of everything going on.

"Oh~ A pastry of sorts, Inuba's already rolling it out in a pan. I wonder where she's going with this…" Skyla pointed out, watching the kitsune work.

"Perhaps something sweet and fluffy? Just like Kitsuki?" Ciel offered.

"Maybe, but looking over there… Ren's dicing up some zucchini. He seems to be taking quite the opposite route!" Skyla noted before hopping down and letting Ciel leap up onto her shoulders this time.

"You're right! They have totally different strategies!" the young girl placed her hand to shade her eyes as she looked out across the stations before her, "I wonder what must be going through their heads!"

"I know! To cook a dish of these mediocre standards, it must be pretty hard dialing down all their recipes for something so simple!" Skyla responded from below in the same amount of excitement.

Five minutes soon passed and the dishes were in the ovens, Ren's having been placed a little earlier due to his prep-work being rather easy. Two drastically different looking dishes disappeared into each individual oven as the two competitors sat back and waited.

More minutes passed, and Inuba's oven began to glow white. Her eyes emitted a soft, ruby glow from within her crimson irises as she circulated her fire across her dish, bypassing several time constraints in a delicate maneuver of her flame mastery.

"Looks like Inuba's is out first!" Ciel called out, standing on even ground with Skyla once again as they watched the kitsune pull her dish from the oven and rest it on the stovetop.

A saucepan had been cooking something earlier, and Inuba just now reached for it as she whisked some eggs together in a large bowl. She added sugar into the mix early on, but she slowly began to stir in the sauce from the boiling pan as she whisked.

A mixture of cream, milk, vanilla pod and seeds were stirred in as she slowly combined the two liquids.

"It's a custard!" Skyla proclaimed.

"No wonder why she needed that pastry base!" Ciel added, the two now watching as Inuba poured her custard atop the pastry foundation she had pulled from the oven and let that set for a moment, then placed the whole thing back into the confines of the heat once more.

What would've taken another hour of baking was reduced greatly as Inuba began circulating her white flame again.

"Look there!" Ciel suddenly exclaimed, catching Skyla's attention, along with everyone else's, "Ren's pulling his dish out of the oven!"

"What is it?!" Skyla squealed in curiosity, scampering up Ciel's back again as she took her high perch atop the already short girl's shoulders.

"Can you see?" the young announcer eagerly asked.

"It's a quiche!"

Ren set aside his quiche to set and cool slightly as he began mixing together a specialized sauce, something to drizzle over it on the serving platter in order to give it that additional taste.

His quiche's crust was golden brown and he managed to avoid over browning in the time constraints he had, managing to bake the perfect looking quiche in the allotted time as he finished up his mixture of a softly sweet, tomato based sauce.

Something akin to ketchup, but with a much more soothing taste and a tasteful freshness.

In the next four minutes, the contestants were done.

Six servings of each dish were carted up to the judging table, Ren and Inuba standing back as soon as each dish was placed before each judge. Ideally, it was best to serve one and then the other, rather than both at the same time.

But in this scenario, it was best to do the judging simultaneously in order to make the most accurate comparison possible.

Two dishes sat before each judge, while the remaining sixth serving of each variation still rested beneath silver domes on the serving carts the two had wheeled over. Each dish's plating was equally elegant. Both triangularly cut and delectably served in such a clean, refined way.

Drizzles of differently colored sauces slipped thinly over each respective dish, spaced intricately and beautifully to please both the eyes and the taste buds.

"Miss Kitsukami, we'll start with your dish. Please, tell us what you have prepared," Ozpin spoke, interlacing his fingers in front of his lips as he turned his attention to the kitsune.

"I have prepared for you a baked custard tart with a nutmeg pastry, the sauce is a similar blend to slightly enhance the flavor but also sooth any overbearing tastes overall. It's a sweet, soft dish, and the nutmeg will help soothe the stomach with every bite." Inuba replied.

She stood with her hands behind her back, fingers nested together as she let her tail slowly sway back and forth.

"Sounds quite delectable. And you, Mister Ren?" Ozpin asked, turning his attention to the other chef amongst them.

"I've prepared a zucchini quiche for you today. It's drizzled with a delicate, gentle tomato sauce and the content of the quiche itself is light, fluffy, and simple. The ingredients were kept to only a few for this dish in favor of avoiding an overwhelming outcome." Ren responded, standing with his hands straight at his sides.

"Very good," Ozpin nodded, then turned his attention to the dishes before him.

"Inuba, you used nutmeg as a spice for your dish, is that correct?" Weiss asked, drawing the kitsune's attention as the heiress gently picked a silver fork from the table before her and cut herself a small piece of Inuba's custard tart.

"That is correct. It is one of the spices known for aiding in stomach pains, so it may assist in the soothing of the taste in all regards," Inuba commented, watching as each judge replicated Weiss's process and sized up their own bite-sized pieces on their forks.

"Most would say that, but nutmeg also has quite the unique flavor. It may sooth the stomach, but it has that small moment of kick that can set the stomach off quicker than anticipated," Weiss replied skeptically, raising her bite to her small nose to take in its aroma.

"Only when used in unnecessary quantities, Weiss," Jaune commented from beside the heiress, lifting his bite-sized piece to his own nose as he took in its delicate, sweet smell, "When used in controlled quantities, that issue is pretty much taken care of."

"That depends on the palette of the recipient," Xera spoke up from the other end of the judging table. He had his fork and bite-sized piece balanced in equilibrium on the tip of his finger as he slowly spun the utensil in circles, "If the one eating the food is sensitive to spices, it takes away most factors and just presents them with what's there. A spice. That's usually enough to turn people away."

"True," Dante commented this time as he had a slightly larger piece settled onto the end of his own utensil, "However, through experience, I know Inuba's capable of measuring her ingredients with such high precision it renders most faults completely meaningless."

"The faults still remain," Xera countered, "They may be covered up through careful calculations and special incorporations of other combined ingredients, but the sensitivity of taste still underlies the entire dish. But, like I said, it really depends on who's eating it."

His eyes glanced toward a soft swishing noise, noticing something long and white whipping about from behind Inuba's apron as he continued to spin his fork. Xera could only shake his head slightly, wondering when the girl would ever learn to hide her excitement, especially with a blush as obvious as that due to Dante's compliment alone.

"All points have been made, I suggest you let your taste buds do the rest of the talking," Ozpin spoke as he glanced between the four judges at his sides, before taking up his fork and slowly taking his first bite.

The four others did the same soon after.

Silence fell over the room, completely basking it in a level of tension far too unbefitting of a culinary face-off… yet, it seemed imperative it was there for such an important endeavor.

That silence was abruptly shattered by the sound of tearing cloth and a loud, satisfied, reverberating manly groan coming from the center of the judging table. Ozpin had gone bare-chested…

His jacket and undershirt shredded themselves in a physical flex of his blinding muscles, completely tearing his attire into obliteration as a wide, toothy grin plastered itself across his face. A long breath of relief cascaded from his mouth as he closed his eyes and relished in the taste of Inuba's dish.

All eyes suddenly turned to Weiss, who had suddenly scarfed down the rest of the dish before her in a loud display of blissful gasps while Jaune took his elegant time taking his down piece by piece. His eyes were closed the whole time, however, and his cheeks were only slightly flushed.

Dante was a different story.

"It's… it's so fluffy, and sweet, and soothing and… and… this is delicious!" Dante declared, his piece long since eaten as he slammed his fork's handle into the table in front of him, "Another!"

"The last piece is for Kitsuki," Xera pointed out, halfway through his own dish as he glanced at Dante, who suddenly looked like a child who had his candy stolen by a man with orange hair and a bowler cap, "Would you like the rest of mine?"

"You're offering?" Dante asked, confusion riddling his face.

Xera only nodded his head, a small thought formulating in his mind about the dish at hand, "Don't get me wrong, it's incredible in all regards. Given what I know about where she learned how to cook, this level is pretty expected and delectable."

"But…?" Dante prompted, seeing where Xera was going with this.

"It doesn't solve the problem at hand. She's crafted a dish worthy of anyone's taste buds, but I'm starting to think that was never the issue here." Xera pointed out, sliding his dish into Dante's possession.

It didn't last more than half a second.

"Xera, I request you to make your point upon the conclusion of the judging. We would all very much like to hear what you have in mind," Ozpin spoke up, suddenly fully clothed again and looking as stoic as ever.

As if he never went bare-chested in the first place.

"For now," The headmaster glanced forward to a severely blushing Inuba, lost in her own mind and with a rapidly whipping tail she couldn't contain anymore, "Thank you for the lovely dish, Miss Kitsukami. Now, it's time to delve into Ren's dish."

All five judges moved onto Ren's own dish as the three announcers trained their attention on the next set of reactions, empty secondary plates now pushed aside.

"Ren, what made you decide to go with a quiche?" Xera asked, taking up a bite-sized portion of the food before him with just enough on it to allow the fork to balance independently on the top of his glass of water.

"Quiches are known to be light and simple, most being made for breakfasts or early meals. My quiche focuses on the light factor, incorporating whipped eggs to keep the substance at a fluffy texture while also incorporating zucchini for a touch of flavor." Ren's logic was sound, and in most regards, it'd work perfectly for the situation at hand.

Xera couldn't help but return to that underlying thought he had earlier… Ren's didn't fit either.

"Zucchini was a bold choice, Ren," Jaune pointed out, picking up his own bite now as he glanced toward his teammate, "It's crunchy, has a _very _distinct flavor, and happens to clash with most other flavors rather easily."

"To counter Jaune's point," Weiss spoke up, giving Ren a polite smile, "I admire the attempt at a healthy food here. You've used no ingredients to settle poorly in the stomach, and all of it seems rather simplistic in a way to suggest a careful delicacy."

"Some people might not like zucchini, though," Dante pointed out.

"The rest of the quiche is clever at hiding the distinct taste of the zucchini, in most cases," Xera countered.

"I believe a taste of the dish is in order, is it now?" Ozpin asked, getting four nods in return as they took their bites once again.

Silence descended once more, smothering the room in yet another quiet blanket of anticipation as all eyes were on Ozpin, every single one of them, watching as he chewed carefully, quietly, methodically… reigning in the flavors in the slowest way possible to savor every second of it.

And then it happened.

Ozpin's immense muscles suddenly bulged, ripping his jacket and shirt to shreds as he released another loud, manly groan of pure bliss into the air of the room. Another smile of pure satisfaction plastered itself across his face as he closed his eyes once again to take in the feeling of complete and utter fulfillment.

Jaune immediately scarfed down his dish, sighing in bliss when he was done while Weiss delicately ate through hers in smaller bites, a mild blush settling over her cheeks as she finished the rest of her slice of quiche in due time.

"Where'd your piece go?" Xera asked, eyeing Dante's third empty plate before him as he was still working through his own second half.

"I don't know! It was here a second ago!" Dante exclaimed, checking beneath the table, under his plate, under the other two plates, under his glass, all coming up with nothing.

"Did you even taste it?" Xera asked.

"I… I remember eating a bite, my first bite of it… and then… nothing." Dante mumbled, wracking his brain for some kind of memory, but ultimately failing to grasp at one.

He was confused beyond measure.

"Here, maybe this'll help," Xera slid his second half to Dante and the white-haired teen glanced down at the slice in skepticism.

Very carefully, the immortal drew up his fork once more and took up a bite of the new quiche before him, drawing it close before slowly transitioning it into his mouth. He closed his eyes, quietly trying to savor the taste… then something took over.

By the time he opened his eyes again, the quiche was gone, his fork empty, nothing remained.

"What is this human sorcery?!" Dante exclaimed, looking around again at any culprits who obviously stole his quiche again, then fixed his gaze onto Ren.

"That, sir, is called healthy cooking combined with tasteful ingredients," Ren informed.

Inuba was busy getting over a fit of giggles at Dante's antics, not bothered by the level of culinary mastery Ren possessed as everything came full circle now.

Ozpin slid an empty plate forward, clothes fully intact once again as he clasped his fingers together and rested them on the table before him, "Well, seeing as everyone else had such clear reactions to these dishes…"

He talked as if he didn't have the greatest reaction of them all.

"I believe it is safe to say these dishes were rather… delicious. However, we mustn't forget the purpose of our decision on the matter and what criteria must be met in order to ensure the highest potential for success. Judges?"

Ozpin's critical eyes slipped back and forth as he turned to meet the gazes of each individual judge.

"Which was better? The tart or the quiche?" He inquired, leveling eyes with each person for a few moments before taking out his scroll, "Please forward me your decision and I'll tally up the final verdict with the incorporation of my own judgment."

"Here we go ladies and gentlemen…" Ciel muttered in a quiet, anticipating whisper.

"The votes are tallying. The tension's rising, building as we await the decision…" Skyla did the same.

The four sent in their verdicts as one, then two, then all of their scrolls were put away, each providing Ozpin with their decisions… only, he had to stop for a moment and regard one of the four judges at his side.

"Mister Stark, abstaining from making a decision may be legal for a judge to do, but you only run the risk of forcing a tie here," Ozpin said, staring curiously at the phoenix at the end of the table.

"What? I can't tell you whose was better," Xera replied with a shrug, if only his words were honest.

Ozpin slowly nodded his head before turning to his tally, "Very well. Xera Stark has abstained from making a decision, leaving four definitive votes overall for this verdict."

His scroll soon closed as he turned his gaze back to the two before him, fixing each one evenly as they stood and awaited the final decision. Their breaths locked in their throats, constricting them as their nerves flared in varying degrees of anxiousness…

"By a vote of 4 to 0," Ozpin continued to switch his gaze between the two, quietly exchanging his glance with each competitor to further push the veil of tension blanketing the room once again, "the victor of this culinary face-off is Inuba Kitsukami."

Sounds of celebration shook the room as the announcers went crazy, yelling about 360 no scopes, babies, and a triple for some odd reason.

Inuba slowly released the breath she was holding and turned to regard her competition, only to see him on his knees and staring at his hands, a cloud of doom looming over his black ponytail.

A similar cloud of doom suddenly loomed over a certain hammer wielder in the stands as well.

Deciding to give him his moment, she made her way over to the sixth dish atop her cart behind her and withdrew the dome covering it, "Would you like me to serve my dish to Kitsuki? I believe the criteria are met for her to pleasantly enjoy this one."

Ozpin's eyes transitioned to Xera at the end of the table, whose eyes focused on something on the stage as he held his arms tightly across his body, head slightly tilted down in thought.

"I believe Mister Stark had something to say when the judging concluded?" Ozpin prompted, intrigued to see what the phoenix was onto with his comment earlier.

"It won't work," Xera muttered, "Your dish won't work."

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it not satisfactory?" Inuba asked, gaze falling into a thoughtful confusion.

Xera's words snapped Ren out of his stupor as well, and his pink eyes suddenly snapped up to the teen judge before him in a similar confusion.

"You met the criteria of taste, but there's something else you're all forgetting," Xera pushed his chair back and stood, glancing back to Kitsuki in her throne and watching her suddenly lock up under the gaze of everyone in the room.

He gradually made his way over and offered the kitsune his hand.

"Pride isn't so easily set aside, even in competitions for another's benefit," He pointed out, letting Kitsuki take a moment to hesitate before taking his hand and letting him pull her from her throne, "You're all going about this in an attempt to prepare her something wondrous, yet simplistic. And you've done so in two excellent ways."

He led her over to the judge's table, then past it and down the walkway, pulling Kitsuki all the way to the stations themselves as the rest of the room just stared in silence.

Even the announcers went quiet.

Xera let Kitsuki's hand go as he gathered a couple eggs and fired up the stove, letting the Dust in the hot plate begin to burn and heat its surface. He quickly slid a pan into place and got out a heat-resistant spoon to stir with.

"Kitsuki, pay attention to everything that goes in here, it'll be pretty easy. I'm only using one ingredient," Xera commented with a cheeky smile. With oil soon added, Xera cracked three eggs into the quickly heating pan and began to stir them.

He let Kitsuki's golden-orange eyes regard him a few times, and as the minutes past, they soon became more and more transfixed on the eggs in the dish as they went from their previous runny, gooey mess to a folding, golden cloud of scrambled eggs.

With a quick grab for a serving platter, Xera pulled over a plate and slipped the scrambled eggs from the hot pan onto the center of the platter. Then with a quick glance, he found a drawer nearby and withdrew a fork from a collection of clean utensils within it.

"You can add some of Ren's leftover tomato sauce if you'd like, he mainly used tomatoes but he also added a small amount of vinegar, some sugar, and specifically the juice extracted from the tomatoes themselves after cooking them down to a saucy consistency." Xera listed off, drawing up a spoon from the drawer as well to collect some sauce in it.

He handed that to Kitsuki, and after a moment, she added a small amount across the top of her scrambled eggs and turned to Xera.

The phoenix gave her a reassuring nod, and with a tense silence, she slowly took up a small spoonful of Xera's quick dish and took a bite.

Her mind was skeptical about it, but somehow… someway… she found herself trusting the dish moreso than the ones she tried before. It felt safer, almost, if that was the right term for her to use.

She hadn't even realized she was two bites in until she was at three, and the pangs of hunger she's been experiencing were quickly evaporating with each tiny portion of egg she ate.

"Part of the reason why you were taking those dishes with such an exhaustive result is because you didn't know what was in them," Xera kicked up onto the counter and took a seat there, dangling his legs over the edge as he let Kitsuki eat and listen, "You're mind's had a hard time trusting anything since you woke up. And due to its current lack of memories, it wasn't sure what to expect when you ate those dishes. The taste was a high impact enough, but the unknown factors only built onto that. It was enough to knock you out on more than one occasion."

Kitsuki passed the halfway point of Xera's scrambled eggs before she slowly nodded her head, getting a gist of his thought processes and making sense of them in her own mind.

It… it explained the feeling she had. That safe feeling when she dug into these scrambled eggs. She didn't know what to expect with the other dishes since she wasn't there to see them being made, but with this…

She watched what went into the food she'd be eating.

The difference that made was… incredible.

"So, I'll be the first to say it," Ren sighed, pushing himself from his knees and onto his feet as he brushed off his pants, "We had it wrong from the start?"

"I wouldn't say wrong," Ozpin pointed out, a small smile forming behind his clasped fingers as he watched the exchange continue on center stage, "Half-right, would be the better term."

"It makes perfect sense, though, now that we know," Dante spoke up now too, glancing apologetically toward Inuba and Ren, "You two tried your hardest, but even so, there was still something we didn't think of that could've played a large factor in the end. Heh, even I didn't think of it."

"It's alright," Ren waved off, "It was good practice. And in the end, we solved the crisis involving Kitsuki's sustenance intake problem, or lack thereof."

"He is correct," Inuba agreed, making her way over to the judge's table once again, "We have solved what we set out to do. I believe that is reward enough."

"Are you just saying that because you won?" Jaune asked.

"Actually," Ren cut in, "I believe this course of action renders the recent verdict unclear now that all the factors have been revealed. Only half of them have been judged."

"Correct," Inuba added, "The outcome of this face-off is moot. We no longer have a clear victor."

She then stood before the judges, dish in hand, and glanced at each one. Ren soon joined her side, dish in hand as well, sharing glances with each judge from Inuba's side.

"I believe we deserve a recount," Ren stated what everyone was thinking.

"We deserve to know whose was truly better in terms of taste now, rather than what was best for the set of criteria you had kept in mind before," Inuba tacked on.

Ozpin's smirk remained as he glanced between the remaining judges one last time, careful not to reveal his smile as he considered their request.

"Very well-"

"Sorry to interrupt." A voice suddenly called down from the stands, and all eyes turned up to the girl in the white cloak.

She stood atop the wall overlooking the stage below, balancing on what served as the spectator's railing as she waited for all attention to focus on her next words.

"As much as even I would enjoy watching this continue, believe me, I do, Zeridûl's rift has finally stabilized and the storm patterns have revealed an opening," Her words lingered in the suddenly still air as she made one final comment, "I believe it's time we stop him for good."

* * *

**This was the final break chapter between the last arc and this one, considering how heavy each one focuses on combat. I felt it was a nice little buffer and it gave me some much appreciated time and moments to give you all character development and the like.**

**So, I hope you all enjoyed that.**

**Next time, we'll be jumping back into the heavier stuff.**

**The culinary face-off, or shokugeki, is not of my own design. It's from the anime I referenced in the last chapter. And for those of you too lazy to check or remember, it's called 'Shokugeki no Souma'.**

**Heh, I wonder what Blake and Xera did before the shokugeki…**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	76. Ace in the Storm

**For whatever reason, I keep giving Blake and Xera perverted conversations… and I have no idea why. Well, I sorta do, but it just keeps happening.**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 76: Ace in the Storm

**Xera's POV**

It didn't take long to get everybody aboard a couple bullheads and set out for the southern corner of the continent. We weren't exactly sure where the anomaly was, but Dante's cloaked associate assured us the general proximity of where it _should _be.

To be honest, it didn't feel like it was on the continent at all…

"ETA five and a half hours, so get comfortable," Ace Azil, our seemingly reoccurring pilot, informed over the intercom, "We're a little ways away."

Bullheads traditionally fly pretty fast. They're faster than airships, but not as fast as stealth-based VTOL Aircraft designed for reconnaissance in the military. These were military grade, admittedly, in order to keep student transportation and cargo safe in the event of avian grimm attacks.

However, these were strictly designed to transport light supplies or small parties of five to six combatants. So, speed and mobility were preferred over industrial grade Dust jets and lift. All in all, this was as fast as we could get without going to the military and hijacking their fastest jet.

Even then, five hours seemed like an eternity ahead of us.

We decided to take all who were willing to go, but that was basically everyone. So, we were effectively a fleet of bullheads right now in some formation skirting over the lands of Sanu below. I didn't know how many ships we took, but it was enough to carry everyone already involved with this mess.

That included Ozpin and Glynda, Caza as well, but none of the other professors. I was assuming that was because the rest needed to stay behind to continue to teach and look after the students of Beacon Academy who _weren't _involved with this mess.

With how many students we happened to be bringing, what we realized shouldn't have been a major issue.

What we realized was the negative draw the rift would have on the surrounding grimm in its vicinity. It'd act like a super magnet, drawing everything grimm-like toward it like a fire consumes oxygen. Everything will accumulate around the rift, which means while we're in there…

Dante's associate would be under duress the whole time, which could very easily break whatever concentration she needed to keep us linked to our world through the rift's gate. Without that link, we'd fall to the mercy of Zeridûl's will, considering his dimension is _his _domain.

Not ours.

Everyone else was coming to defend her while we went into the rift.

Which ultimately meant Blake was sitting next to me in our bullhead. Regrettably, she had to put her bow back on due to the obvious. Kitsuki refused to be left back at Beacon without anyone she knew, so she tagged along as well and took a seat across from me. Her head was resting softly against Inuba's shoulder. The elder kitsune was currently in a conversation with Dante at her other side, while her hands worked at healing his right arm during the flight.

Skyla was the last member to be in this bullhead. She was sitting to my left, playing on her scroll to distract herself for the next few hours.

The rest of our massive party divided into the rest of the bullheads, including Dante's siblings and his ever-elusive stalker.

Blake's own head shifted ever so slightly on my right shoulder, and I turned slightly to find her amber eyes, "What do you think this rift will look like?"

"To be honest," she asked a pretty good question, since none of us have ever really seen something like this before, "I'm more inclined to believe it's just a gateway of sorts. Not physical, in any sense, but more like a window into a different dimension."

"I can see that, but I was thinking more along the lines of a portal, if that makes sense," she offered, giving me a thoughtful hum as I felt our elevation rise by a small margin.

"A portal could work, but I guess it'd depend on how the access to his rift actually worked," I responded.

"Well, I doubt anything can just walk in…" Blake said, giving me something to build on.

"Maybe it's not connected to the ground? Or, it's not part of the continent at all?" That would make sense, considering Sanu wasn't wracked with quakes of any size. It was mainly atmospheric changes and traveling storms.

"You think it's in the air?"

"Could be, which would make things a little more… difficult. We can't exactly bring these bullheads in," I realized, switching gears to think of ways to get us all into the gateway if it happened to be elevated above the ground.

"Says the person with wings," Blake teased, brushing my side with a couple delicate fingers.

"Hey, it's a lot harder to carry things while flying than you probably think it is," I countered, letting my wings press into her fingers as she felt around.

A small smirk crossed her lips, "You carried me, didn't you?"

"You're light, so it wasn't that hard," Carrying two people on the other hand, or anything abnormal in the sense of the center of gravity… it gets a little tricky.

I suddenly felt Blake's soft grip on my arm get a little tighter as she smiled, "Anything else you want to say about my body?"

She apparently liked having her ego stroked, "Probably enough to force the rest of the people in here to get a little antsy and tell us to get a room."

"That can be arranged," Blake smirked, eyeing the cargo-hold at the midsection of the ship.

"Sometimes, I think my passive heat affects you in all the wrong ways," I muttered, shaking my head a little as Blake gave me an amused smile.

"You don't want to know how your heat affects me," she purred, nuzzling her cheek into my shoulder as we talked.

I was hoping she was joking, "Jokes aside, and the fact that I'm a walking heater aside as well, we have some time to kill and some tension to ignore."

"Tension, you say?" Blake laughed lightly, giving me another teasing grin.

"T-the other tension, like the pre-battle kind of tension, n-nothing else," I corrected, clearing my throat quietly as I turned my gaze to find a new subject to address.

"Suuure," Blake hummed, letting her fingers splay out over the feathers she felt beneath my sweatshirt.

_New subject, now, right now, stop getting distracted._

My eyes fell on the three opposite us, and I quickly noticed Inuba's healing flames settling down slightly. It seemed she was healing his arm in pulses, rather than in long successions.

"Hey, is your arm going to get in the way in there?" I asked, letting my eyes regard a pair of bright sky blue irises as they looked my way, "You Shadow-Skinned it before in order to use it, but that's not exactly for extended periods of time."

"I can use Shadow Skin as long as I have enough Aura," he responded.

"Well, with your massive reserve of aura, the duration wouldn't really be a problem. But, I get the feeling there's a downside to doing it," I pressed, sensing a negative outcome to his response. It felt a little too… convenient.

"Something like that. As is, I can choose which areas I want to Shadow Skin and which I don't. In terms of practicality, I can keep the Shadow Skin up for as long as I'm conscious, so practically forever," now I was really sensing a 'but' here, "The only drawback now is that when I use it for my right arm, it only halts my arm's recovery, which means I have to wait more. But with Inuba's healing, I don't really have to worry all too much about it."

"But you're still halting the healing process for the extent of time it's Shadow-Skinned," I responded, getting a nod out of him.

"I am against the idea as well Mr. Stark," Inuba said, giving Dante's arm a few moments of break for now, "But… we wish to do our part as well. And because of that, we are willing to take the risk. Though the process may be halted for the duration of Shadow Skin usage of his right arm, it will allow him to fight at full capacity."

"You guys can't be the only ones doing all the work. You called on us for a reason, and I intend to do my best for my friends," said Dante.

"We all will," Inuba added.

"Yeppers," Skyla chimed in, leaning this way and that as she played on her scroll. The tell-tale signs of a game involving cars, soccer, and rockets on a three-dimensional field of play sounding out through its speakers.

It was a league of sorts, and she _loved _demolishing other players. She was bloodthirsty, and she fully enjoyed it.

"We'll be helping as much as possible as well. While you're all in there, we can expect an eventual onslaught of grimm closing in on the rift. We'll keep them at bay while you eliminate the source," Blake spoke up beside me, lifting her head from my shoulder.

She didn't pull away from my side, though.

"I'm thankful, for all of that, but this isn't something so easily said. You're all risking your lives as it is, so it's a larger deal than you're leading it on to be," I responded, eyeing each of the people before me.

"_Isn't that what hunters do?"_

My eyes soon turned to Kitsuki as a quick display of sign language appeared from Inuba's other side, she was the final person to be heard of the six of us.

"Well, we train to fight grimm and other threats, but we're also trained to survive. Some measures of war are better retreated from than rushing to our own demise. In some cases, it's just better to back away and rethink a strategy than to take it head on," I responded, but her golden-orange eyes didn't change from their calm demeanor or silent resolve.

"_Hunters do what they can to let civilization continue to survive. From what I read, isn't that the ideal huntsman and huntress?"_ she asked, leaning her own head away from Inuba's shoulder as she pulled out her scroll.

"Ideal? Maybe… Foolish? Obviously," Dante interjected, giving Skyla a quick glance, "But the question to be asked here really… is how far are you willing to go to 'do what you can'? What are you prepared to sacrifice? Victory comes with costs, most of the time anyway. Almost every time, you give a little more. Sometimes… moreso than you ever really need to give…"

Inuba's fox ears folded against her head. The action caught Kitsuki's gaze, and the smaller girl stared up at Inuba's ears in confusion before she reached up and softly pulled the elder kitsune's ears back up into standing positions.

"The world doesn't exactly work like that, Dante," I replied, but his answer wasn't too far off.

It was the ideal mindset for those willing to risk themselves in favor of the ones they loved, but it wasn't anything more than that. It was shallow, disregarding, and wasn't worth the breath to claim as one's own goals.

"The worlds give as much as they take, and in all regards, this is the same for everyone that lives in them. The more we give, the more that can be taken away. The harder we try, the greater the downfall. It isn't about putting forth the effort to pursue a risk, it's about putting forth a risk to enforce the effort you need to turn that risk into a certainty," I countered, trying to find ways to get across what I meant.

"For the extent of time I've known Xera, I've found he's a firm believer in few things, and this is one of them," Blake added, and I gave her a thankful glance as she continued, "Risk isn't anything more than a means to an end. And that end, in most regards, is fear and reluctance. Risk is only there to make you consider what would happen should something fail, but it never pushes what would happen if you succeed."

"There are no risks in anything I do," I continued, giving Blake's linked arm a small squeeze with my own, "It's either a 100% certainty that I can do it, or not at all. Anything in between isn't something I tend to consider."

"If you were to ever think about gambling, you'd be really bad at it…" Dante realized, "That point aside… two of you here have seen what I've seen and know what I know."

He glanced at Inuba then leaned forward, leveling his eyes back on mine.

"While I respect that idea, I have to tell you that you won't always have the luxury of a 100% certainty. There will be a time in your life where you will have to risk more or all, especially in this line of work," the immortal lowered his voice as he let out a small breath, "You always have to be prepared for such instances. Otherwise… well, I assume you get the idea…"

"I'm more prepared than you probably think I am," I muttered, but it was as close to the truth as I was going to get.

"We're all a little stronger than we think we are," Skyla chimed in, waiting for her end-game screen to finish counting down to get into another game. She was playing a Season, considering our connection was only going to drop the further we got away from the main scroll towers, "But that doesn't mean we have to see the world in such a way to leave it as nothing more than the good and the bad. There's a lot more to it than that."

"True, there are several pieces of all the worlds that don't make sense to us. Maybe it will in the future, but not now," I agreed, giving me a moment to divert the conversation to a new subject, "Besides, I get pretty lucky a lot. I've tried the gambling thing, ended up bleeding the place dry without cheating. So, in that regard, I'm an _excellent _gambler."

"How optimistic of all of you," Dante returned, "I admire that. If anything, you are right, Skyla. There is more to it than good and evil. I know that much. To be more honest, I've 'seen' what you mean. But Xera, you can't always rely on luck. Sometimes… all you'll have is yourself."

His eyes trailed to the floor, the teen taking a deep breath as Inuba's white flames crackled around his right arm.

"Thankfully, though, we have this thing called friends to help us along our way. They help guide us as we guide them. They fight for us as we fight for them. They stand by you as you stand by them. And because of that, we can be a little more at ease."

"I know the feeling," I responded, glancing to those at my sides before reaching into my pocket and pulling out a deck of cards, "Which is why I'm glad that you're all willing to help. But in the meantime, can my friend over there play Hearts with just one hand?"

"Hearts? Tch… The one game I never played really…"

"Well, it's easy enough to learn. Skyla learned just for the sake of slamming the Queen of Spades down on people and laughing triumphantly," I commented, giving the cards a swift bridge-shuffle after taking them out of their black and gold box.

"Oh! Are we playing Hearts?!" Skyla suddenly snapped her scroll closed mid-game and turned to stare at the cards in my hand.

"This spells doom on many levels for me," Dante muttered, getting a light laugh out of the kitsune at his side as she administered her healing.

"We've played this game before, I think," Blake realized, leaning forward to watch me mix up the cards in a flourish, "Doesn't the Queen of Spades dish out a ton of-" I cut my girlfriend off with a shush as I started dealing the cards out onto the floor.

"He'll find out soon enough."

* * *

We started hitting turbulence within a couple miles of the target zone, and it wasn't until we started getting hit hard by typhoon-level winds that I realized we were over the ocean. We weren't over land anymore.

Rain struck the walls of the bullhead like stones on glass, chipping at the armored hull of our vessel as we continued forward.

"You see that storm out there?" Ace spoke loudly over his shoulder, Dante and I standing behind him in the pilot's cockpit to see where we were headed.

"It's dark, but there's definitely land out there. There has to be," I pointed out, casting a glance to Dante, "Unless your associate was wrong."

"There's an island out there alright," Dante reassured.

"Well, if it's there, we'll be flying through that storm, and it's not just one. We're flying through a manifestation of four storms, kids," Ace informed, taking us lower to just above sea level, "Don't expect this to be a smooth ride."

"I never did," I said, keeping my hand on the handle above me, "Tell the others to buckle up if they haven't already. I'll be fine up front."

"I'll stay up here with you. It'll give us both a read on what's going on out there," Dante stated as well, his voice struggling to make itself heard over the sound of torrential rain.

"If you say so, but listen up guys," Ace responded, taking us into a sharp bank as we swung around a rising crest of crashing water, "Those up there, those are tornadoes. We'll be flying through those, considering their surrounding the entire island. So I hope you both have some iron grips in those hands of yours."

As soon as we cleared the mountain of ocean water, I noticed the dark gray vortexes tearing into the sea on all sides of the island before us. I lost count after fifteen, they were continuously ripping into each other and circling around several more.

Some even crashed together to form larger vortexes of hurricane level winds, causing two more to pull down from the atmosphere above to drill into the ocean below.

There weren't any wide openings. And for the openings that were slightly visible, they opened and closed in mere seconds as the tornadoes fluctuated and swirled seamlessly inside and through one another in a wide perimeter.

Their swirling currents were enhancing the winds of those around them… subsequently causing all tornado movements to be erratic and uncontrolled.

"I'm glad we didn't take a boat," I commented, leaning down to glance at the sky. It was pitch black, dark clouds illuminating constantly from red lightning streaking across the skies above.

It was impossible to hear the thunder… with how much wind and water ripped at our hulls.

"In any case, these engines were designed to be put through the worst. Unfortunately, they weren't designed to survive being torn to shreds by strong enough winds," Ace continued, "You two better hold on tight, because we're going in hard, fast, and with all the momentum we can muster."

"Do what you need to, we'll be fine," Dante and I shook back and forth as the immortal spoke up once more, the two of us holding onto opposite handles as the tornadoes drew nearer.

"I just hope the others will be, too," I muttered, planting my feet into the ground of the ship as we slipped over a rising tsunami.

"Relax, they're in safe hands. We're pilots of Beacon Academy," Ace assured, taking us into a sudden dive to ride just over the back of the colossal wave beneath us, "We're as good as they get."

We were bringing an army. The odds were less than half of us making it through to the other side, but if Ace's words held any merit, those odds were sure to go up. Everyone involved was coming. Teams CFVY, SNAR, JNPR, RWBY. Skyla was the only other person on my team to tag along, due to Allix remaining behind at Rex's side.

Dante was bringing his own companions. Inuba, Leo, Ciel, they were all coming. Destiny and Kitsuki were the singular additions, leaving the final roundup to add in Ozpin, Glynda, and Caza to top everything off.

We were packed into enough bullheads to carry all of us, each with the capacity to carry about two members more than the average team of four, meaning we were traveling in a fleet of five transport vessels.

My hopes remained. I wanted to see all five of those ships make it through this culmination of storms.

Ace banked us around the next wave and reached up, flicking off all interior lights before locking the stabilizers in each wing, then flicked on the communication between ships, "Delta, Faux, you're on me. Take to my wings and divert only when necessary. Ike and Brado tag up and keep close behind. I see a series of openings, so eyes up and follow my lead."

He brought his hand back to the stick and yanked us into a climb, barely slipping over a suddenly cresting new wave before us.

"Keep a tight formation and rely on your own judgment calls. And whatever you do," Ace flicked one more switch as we approached the ferociously swirling wall of tearing winds.

Our bullhead's thrusters suddenly cut out… leaving us in a suspended limbo of dying momentum…

"Don't die."

The whole bullhead lurched forward as the thrusters roared with a new hum, shaking the ship in a tense, rising growl as they burned to life. We were accelerating, and incredibly fast.

A digital display suddenly overlaid the bullhead's cockpit windows, rendering in the majority of the storm before it as numbers and lines came to life across the glass separating us from the outside.

It was a live array of wind currents and swirling air pockets, keeping track of every differentiation of air pressure and temperature while tracking the direction of each wind and the pathing that rushing air would take.

A sweeping wave of light suddenly slipped across the screen, and four triangular, lime-green blips appeared on screen with names depicting the four pilots he addressed earlier.

I didn't know bullheads were equipped with sensors like these…

But that thought quickly fell off as Ace took us into a hard dive to build even more momentum on the returning arc.

All thoughts were put on hold as we slammed into the first swirling tornado, breaching its outer wall before smashing our way out the other side. A portion of our momentum was burned, but nothing but black and gray walls of swirling wind could be seen now that we got through the outermost region.

There was no way around, and keeping to the outside of the tornadoes was more times dangerous than passing through them. The currents were more unpredictable between vortexes, tearing around each cyclone in crashing gales that swept and clashed with the surrounding tornadoes that neighbored them.

It was a series of seemingly impossible obstacles, no patterns even remotely visible let alone predictable, but Ace took us in a determined dive around the lower base of a massive vortex of air.

He took us around the left side, using its rotatory winds to carry us up into a climb that pulled us through the body of a tornado around the bend. His pathing was split second, instinctual, and methodical.

Somehow, he tore through the tornadoes that were least likely to damage our hull, and slipped around others to weave through clashing winds as he rode all directional currents with a trained dexterity.

Was this what Beacon's pilots were trained to do…?

The four blips in formation behind us were wavering, taking minutely different courses to account for wind differentiations and slipstreams as we sailed through the eyes of several tornadoes and rode their surrounding winds.

But as we passed through a colossal tornado and slipped through its center, the two at the back broke formation.

"Ike, Brado, you're diverting course. What threw you off?" Ace asked, tapping into the intercom as he brought us around the next bend.

"We don't know! Something black rose out of the water between us and struck our hulls, we're permanently off course now," a male voice responded over the mic, loud and clear for Dante and I to hear.

"A grimm?" Dante wondered, voicing the same thought I just had.

"Got it, I'm adjusting my course to pick you up. Don't go against the winds," Ace tore the stick to the side and took us in the direction of the blip at our furthest right.

It was chasing the winds and heading toward a target zone off-course from where we needed to go.

"Whatever it was, let's hope the thing's not fast enough in a storm like this to catch our tails," Ace growled, taking us into a sudden dive to build momentum as he kicked our engines into full-gear, forcing air into their turbines to burn Dust at a faster rate.

He took us through the next few tornadoes, banked us around several more, and rude an upward gale of wind to take us to the level of the stray bullhead.

"Brado, adjust altitude to reduce your depth by thirty feet, we're at your six. We'll be passing overhead, take up the rear and follow once we do," Ace ordered, flying in close as the ship before us shook and rattled, before dipping slightly in elevation and lowering.

Ace immediately flared thrusters and took us over Brado's bullhead, taking up the lead once again as we made an immediate bank around the nearest vortex and changed direction.

"Ike, you're next," Ace called out, heading in the direction of the green blip nearly a thousand feet away due to straying off course.

"Negative, Ace. We're stuck in a series of merging tornadoes. There aren't any openings to get through, we're gonna have to wait it out," Ike responded, another male voice, maintaining a respectable amount of confidence.

"Waiting this storm out will only make the situation worse," a female voice spoke up this time over the mic, crackling from the tearing winds around us and minor interference.

"Delta, there is _no _getting out of this one. Keep back, all of you. I'll figure something out," Ike replied, before a sudden shudder broke through the mic and Ike's blip on-screen suddenly got thrown into a tailspin.

"Shit, Ike!" the male voice we heard earlier yelled out.

"Give me a damn minute, Brado," Ike growled back, straining his voice as we watched the blip's tip whip around in an uncontrollable spin.

I noticed Ace's glove tighten on his stick as we entered a dive, his jaw tensing as the blip continued to spin out of control.

It was a pilot's nightmare. It was a miracle to pull an aircraft out of a spin like that, let alone do so before crashing into the ground. This? This was in the middle of a storm surrounded by typhoon level winds and clashing currents, all impossible to fight.

The four of our bullheads were narrowing in now as the fifth blip, Ike's bullhead, began to slow in its perpetual spin.

"Stabilizing," Ike's voice rang out through the mic, and we watched his bullhead slowly come to a gradual stop, "We're good. But whatever that was… it was big, and it was scaly."

"Did you see it?" the last voice spoke up, the voice I hadn't heard yet. It was feminine and monotonous, but had an air of calculation to it that Brado and Ike didn't.

"Yeah, Faux, I got a full tailful of it as it _slammed_ into my right wing. We're up against a Storm Drake," Ike informed, the sounds of his sputtering Dust engines sounding through his mic as we narrowed in on his location.

_A Storm Drake… _I hope that isn't what I think it is…

"Those things ride and chase storms, keep an eye on your radar, Ike," Ace took us around the next tornado and revealed an incredible wall of wind beyond it, accompanied by several turning vortexes of violently bending winds acting as a shield around it.

"I _was _paying attention to it. This thing slipped through my sweep," Ike replied, causing Ace's grip to tighten further on his controls.

He didn't want to lose anyone as much as I didn't.

"We're going dark," Ace declared, "We'll get to you and find our way out of the vortex. Until then, stay put and away from the water."

"Easier said than done."

"Ike," Ace growled.

"I got it," Ike replied, his voice crackling over the mic, "Just don't blame me if we're all stuck in this mess."

And then it went silent.

Everything went silent.

Ace took us into a climb before reaching up and hovering his hand over several switching across the controls above him, waiting for something as we approached the nearest wall of wind.

"The rest of you," he spoke, clearly and with authority, getting three affirmatives from the other side, "don't reactivate your engines until you've stabilized, or you'll rip your wings from your hull."

With that, the mic was cut out as he slammed the switches beneath his hand into the off position, cutting power to engines one and two, and making three and four go dark as well.

We were suspended by nothing more than our metal wings…

"Hold on tight you two, we're letting the storm carry us in," Ace muttered, causing me to tighten my grip on my supporting handle as we began to drift.

The whole ship slowly began to turn, the direction of forward slowly pulling more and more to the left as the bullhead's nose rotated to the right. Our horizontal axis was shifting slightly, following by our pitch taking a minor turn as well.

Two bullheads to our right were doing something similar, and I noticed each one with windows as black as night and engines cold and devoid of light. They were entering spins as well as the wind around us tore against our water-ridden walls.

We were backward when we entered the wall of violent tornadoes.

Everything went dark.

The world shuddered around us as the wind and the rain slammed into the metal hull even harder, a wailing wind ripping into its hard surface as our spin intensified threefold. I felt our tail yank us around, throwing us into a faster spin as we passed through the tornadoes and followed their mixed currents.

We were at the mercy of the storm, and nothing was going to pull us out of it but ourselves. The rapidly shifting tornadoes pulled us in even deeper, throwing us into jaggedly fluctuating, swirling currents before casting us into the largest wall of wind there was.

The colossal vortex increased our velocity to nearly reach terminal, the whole bullhead shaking violently to accompany the change as we spun out of control.

An immense gray wall was all we saw, no sense of depth or direction as I clung to the handle above me. G-force was threatening to pry my fingers loose as I was forced against the wall, our world blurring into nothing more than a dull gray as the bullhead's hull took a beating.

My eyes suddenly fell to Ace's gloved hand. He was hovering his hand back over the engine switches, waiting for something to tick as he trained his eyes on his compass.

Our pitch was completely tilted. We weren't flat anymore on the air. We were entering a vertical spin, our tail was whipping us through a wide twirl while our wings ran perpendicular to the ocean's surface.

Everything was shuddering.

But then, like clockwork, I felt the world suddenly grow tense and silent as Ace's fingers twitched. A dull ticking sounded out, muffled by the winds yet apparent in every way. Its noise was quiet and constant, slowing down as my adrenaline started to pump.

His gloved fingers were twitching in rhythm to his ticking watch, waiting, patience brewing yet… held.

The compass was spinning out of control, but nothing seemed to matter as Ace waited…

Before, in a fraction of a second, he suddenly slammed the switches back into upward positions and yanked the bullhead's control wheel.

The engines sputtered to life instantly, firing glowing blue bursts of light into the wall of gray wind around us as the ship surged forward. I suddenly knew what he was listening to now…

He was waiting for the moment our nose turned to the shallowest part of the turning winds. The one direction… that led us into the eye of the tornado we were riding.

He kicked us into its calmest reaches without waiting for stabilization…

Our ship crashed through the veil of wind and corrected pitch, catching us from a sudden plummet toward the crashing waves below as we climbed back up toward the center of the tornado's epicenter.

The digital array suddenly filled the screen again, flicking on as we climbed to show our singular blip and Ike's just ahead of us. The rest were still dark.

Ace waited there, turning the ship on its axis to see the wall before it.

"Do you think they…?" Dante trailed off, but his question, despite unfinished, was loud and clear.

"They'll make it," Ace replied, gloves tight on the controls as we sat there in swirling winds.

Ten seconds felt like an eternity, twenty felt three times that, and thirty was just out of the question. Everything felt quiet all of a sudden, despite the howling winds coming from every direction. Those seconds continued to tick on, and I suddenly realized I couldn't hear Ace's watch anymore.

The tension rose, lingering in the air for several seconds longer… before one bullhead suddenly crashed out of the wall of wind before us. Behind it, two more blazed behind the veil of gray, shining in blue hazes of light as they burst through as well.

They all made it through, we were all inside now.

"Congratulations, now how do you want to lead us out of here, Ace?" Ike asked over the mic, his blip falling back into formation on screen as we all hovered at the center of the surrounding tornado.

It seemed to have already reached a size it couldn't easily expand.

"We build momentum along the interior wall," Ace replied, eyeing the massive, thick, gray vortex around us, "Once we build enough, we'll throw our ships into a hard bank and break through the encapsulated tornadoes. We'll be able to build enough speed to carry us the rest of the way to the island if we time it right."

"_If _we time it right," Delta's feminine voice spoke, something of a lighter, sweeter tone, "How do you plan to time this one, Ace?"

"Sorry to break it to you man, but build too much speed and we lose our rudders. Build too little, and we get thrown into an irreversible course that'll send us straight into the water," Brado informed as well.

"Not necessarily, we also run a high chance of getting thrown into one another and igniting our engines in volatile combustions," Faux added.

"Not helping, Faux," Delta spoke out.

"Ace knows this, guys," Ike's voice sounded out now, cutting through in a static strain as he quieted the rest down, "but he's the _only _one who can time this. I trust in him, you should do the same."

"We've always trusted him with our lives," Delta affirmed, voice going soft, "And we'll gladly keep doing that for as long as we can."

"You have our backs, Ace," Brado added, "And we have yours."

"I can attest to that," Faux chipped in as well.

"Take us to the island of ice, Ace," Ike finished, letting the next few seconds become static filled silence.

Ace was running his calculations. His timing, from what I've seen, was unparalleled, his judgment even moreso. If he was going to do this… his execution needed to be flawless.

Anything short of perfection would result in failure.

"Form a line," Ace ordered, hands suddenly moving again as he checked his dials, "Everyone nose to tail, hover just short of contact. We need to stay linked as close as possible to get this right."

The ships at our right and left suddenly dipped back, and I watched the blips onscreen fall in line behind us before pushing forward to form a line of glowing green arrows, nearly connecting together through contact.

"I'll call out every move I take, you all do the same. And, at the end of this, remind me to buy you all drinks," our pilot took the wheel and tensed the muscles in his arm, a small smirk forming on his face in the reflection of the glass.

The chuckling over the mic was evidence as to why.

"All units, accelerate to ten knots over five seconds on my count," Ace continued, brushing his thumb over the control stick beside him, "Three… two… one… accelerate."

He slowly pushed the lever forward, timing the buildup of acceleration over five seconds to take us to approximately 11.5 mph. The rest did the same, none of them disconnecting whatsoever from the line we formed.

"Take it up to 35 knots over ten seconds and adjust longitude by a negative roll of 15 degrees on my mark," Ace continued, before counting down from three once more and banking the vessel slightly while increasing to just over 40 mph.

We were approaching the wide wall of the tornado now. Its pulling winds were becoming apparent, shaking the hull of our ship again as we got close.

"Take it to 30 degrees now on my mark."

We were soon banking even more as we got closer.

"45 degrees on my mark."

We were at the wall now, its gripping wind tugging at our vessel as the tip of our right wing sliced just barely into its stirring surface.

"The winds carried us into a new velocity. Take it up and accelerate to 400 knots over the next ten seconds, we'll continue from there at a gradual rate of 15 knots per second. Accelerate on my mark," Ace ordered out, all five vessels of ours remaining in a tight chain of blips on the radar as we rode as close to the wall as we could get.

The wind was helping us accelerate even faster, adding more and more miles per hour into our gages as I noticed the knots passively going up on their own.

"Accelerate."

Ace pushed the lever forward and we were pulled into a higher acceleration that kept climbing, taking us to the 400 knots mark and beyond it as we continued to climb. Our vessel stayed at the wall of the hurricane, all roll changes being declared before performed as we built up speed.

We were quickly approaching 700 knots, which was about 805 mph. The numbers were slowing in their climb, but they kept rising as we rode the winds of the innermost wall of this tornado.

The noise of our rudders shaking tore in from outside, the shaking of our wings suddenly becoming more apparent as well with each 15 knots we accelerated.

Everything was beginning to violently shake with the speeds we were achieving… the hull couldn't take too much more of it.

"At 861 knots stop accelerating, we take a hard bank right on my mark and carry through the wall at a positive 10 degrees, then level out once through," Ace tapped the dial of his compass and paid it special attention, keeping an eye on the cardinal directions as we approached the velocity cap he declared.

_765… 790… 815… 840… _

I was watching the knot counter in my head, calculating the speed we were traveling at as I bit my lip. 861 was 10 miles short of 1000 mph… we've long since broken the sound barrier.

We were nearing the half-way point to Mach 2…

The shuddering in our wings was getting worse, and as soon as we reached 861 knots, Ace stopped accelerating and fell into a sudden focus again, the same focus I felt earlier. The ticking… it was back.

The dully ticking second hand on his watch, I could hear it clearly again. It was softly tapping through the tense air as the world slowed down, entering a slow crawl as we grazed the vortex wall with the edge of our wing.

His breathing… it was slowing down. His hands were firm, holding his controls with a certainty a sniper would grip their rifle with in the moment of a distant shot. He was waiting again…

Timing the seconds as they ticked by, each tick slower than the last as I felt his tense patience slow the fabric of reality.

The rain fell in slow droplets against the glass before us, the hum of our bullhead's engines was purring in a gentle murmur, the air felt as thick as water… as if the world suddenly forgot how time was supposed to be perceived.

That was when I watched his finger twitch, tapping the edge of his wheel to the exact tick of his watch… waiting as the wind we rode was reduced to the feeling of a gentle winter breeze.

"Mark."

The world suddenly resumed as Ace banked us into the veil of wind, taking us back into the currents of the tornado as we crashed into its wall and pushed right through it. We merged with the strong confines of the tornado as we leveled out before banking slightly further, countering its inward pull as we slipped through its outer reaches with ease.

It was then the whole bullhead violently shuddered, each wing threatening to bend and snap as we crashed through every tornado in our way. Each swirling vortex of air was split in two as we passed through, leveling out moments later as we kept pushing onward.

A red glow illuminated the air above and shook the storm in a sudden thunderous roar, something we couldn't hear in the midst of the storm before.

We were getting close to the island.

Our ship's radar was going haywire, flicking on and off as the digital display onscreen faded and nearly disappeared. My grip nearly failed me as the floor of the vessel shook, shaking beneath my feet as the rest of the bullhead rocked from the throws of crashing wind.

The whipping wisps of gray across the glass before me suddenly grew thin… and before I knew it, we crashed our way through the final layer of tornadoes and entered a stabilizing cruise just beyond the innermost layers of the entire manifestation of storms.

We made it… somehow.

As the digital display flicked back on, I noticed four blips on the radar flying closely behind our leading vessel, and before long, each one was flaring as the mics were starting to overload with calls and cheers.

Ace stayed silent, letting everything slowly simmer down as I noticed a significant drop in his aura. _Whatever he did, it used a portion of his aura to do… but however he did it, and what he actually did, didn't matter. He got us through, that was all that mattered in the end._

No questions needed to be asked.

"Ace, we're turning the deal around, _we'll _be the ones to buy you the first drink tonight," Ike commented over the mic, clear relief in his voice as he laughed.

The others did as well.

"_Only_ the first one?" Ace questioned, reducing our speed to a safe cruising velocity to get us the rest of the way to the island.

"_All_ of them," Delta responded, getting a soft chuckle out of Ace.

"Sounds like a fun time," he replied, before flicking off engines three and four and saving their fuel for later.

"Hey, uh, sorry to break the mood here," Brado spoke up, the pitch in his voice getting abnormally high and a little shaky, "but, what the _hell _is _that_?"

"I was _just _about to point that out, too," Ike commented.

"I need to get my eyes checked," Faux muttered.

Before us was a _floating _tear in the fabric of our reality.

Above the center of the island was a rift, if that was the best way to explain it. It was filled with a dark, pitch-black void of… stars. I didn't know how else to describe them. The black void was full of white and blue glints of light, reaching a depth I couldn't even conceive as I stared into its broken abyss.

It was a jagged, vertical slit that opened _through _the air above the island, remaining there in a stationary silence. It ominously fluctuated ever so slightly along its gaping borders, the length of it absolutely enormous as the bottom tip of it just barely hovered over the surface of an island of spikes.

The other end reached into the dark clouds above, and from it leaked a crimson energy that sparked and crackled, surging into the night sky and into the storm clouds around it.

That was the cause of the storms.

"Looks like Zeridûl's set himself up for an extended period of time. It doesn't look like he's planning to leave his dimension any time soon," Dante spoke up at my side, letting go of the handle as he leaned forward toward the glass.

"If he's looking to build an army, he probably plans to stay awhile," I replied, "He probably doesn't expect anyone to be able to get through the storms encompassing his island."

"Well, we just did, so he's in for a little surprise," Dante replied with a smile.

"Whatever the case," Ace cut in, lowering our altitude as we got a better look at the island, "I'll be setting us down on the western shore of the island to start running repairs. That's the flattest region I can see."

"Sure thing, do what you need to," I responded, letting him take us down as I took in the island in its entirety.

It was made of black ice, hardened beyond compare and seemingly unbreakable in a dark and lethally dangerous way. Spikes, spines, and spires littered its surface in every reach of its structure. Its walls were raised into icy outcrops on all sides, batting away the intense surges of water from each direction.

"The island's pitch-black. I thought you said Zeridûl's ice was only born from Zerath's affinity, not his own power?" Dante questioned, giving me a confused glance.

"That's what I thought…" I replied, keeping my eyes forward as the island grew nearer.

The waves were noticeably calmer inside the storm, but they were still harsh and volatile. The air here was calmer as well, considering wind wasn't tearing at our hull anymore. The only light to illuminate the island was from the crimson glow at the top of Zeridûl's rift, basking the ocean and the black reaches of the island below in the very same glow I remembered seeing from his red sun.

The same sun that corrupted my brother's mind beyond recognition… and shredded every sense of his being down to the last shard of his memories.

It was back… and it was real.

We descended to the far side of the island with the other bullheads following close behind, sweeping around the incredibly large landmass beneath us as Ace rotated our thrusters and touched base with the icy ground below.

A few moments later, he cut the engines and opened the bullhead doors.

"If I were you, I'd take this as quickly and cautiously as possible," Ace advised, flicking off several more switches as he finished landing procedures, "We don't want to be here for long."

"Understood," I replied, turning to leave the cockpit with Dante.

We were here. It was possible we were under the guise of surprise, but it's more likely he's expecting our arrival. If that's the case, then we'll just have to push through whatever else he throws at us.

And whatever it is that's lurking out there in the water… let's hope it stays out there.

This wasn't a place to have a fight.

I couldn't help but laugh at that thought. After all, I came here to start one.

* * *

**Okay… that got a little out of hand. Previously, I actually wanted to take us into the rift halfway through this chapter and make the travel to get to it last for only the first half. But, I realized something halfway through.**

**If I made it so easy… then it wouldn't really be much of a buildup, would it? I needed to add danger, spice it up a bit, add a little suspense, and make it nearly **_**impossible **_**to successfully reach the island and **_**survive**_**.**

**Now, with those incorporations added, how'd I do? Tense? Relieved they made it? Or, was it all just highly unnecessary and you're all just super annoyed…**

**I stand by my decision, given its necessity. I just hope it was enjoyable.**

**Besides, you got to see Ace's fun crew!**

**One last little thing, the title was a play on words if you didn't catch it. It refers to the popular phrase of an 'ace in the hole'. If you don't know, feel free to look it up. It's equivalent to the phrase, 'an ace up one's sleeve'.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


	77. Bridge to Eryndûs

**There's a long AN at the bottom…**

* * *

Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

* * *

XSRA's Flame Chapter 77: Bridge to Eryndûs

**Third Person**

Five bullheads cooled their engines on a risen plateau, purring against the ragged winds and cool, ocean air. What wasn't black was tinted red, shimmering inside the crashing waves around them and tainting the world in crimson and ruby.

It was a sea of blood, raised in a torrent of wind and dark, cresting waves. Thunder ripped through the air as scarlet lightning shattered the sky, rushing in wide pulses across the under layer of the gray clouds above… before disappearing into the storms in the distance.

_Cold… _Xera let his sneakers touch base with the foreign ground, stepping onto what looked like hardened, scorched, ashen glass… but felt like a thin layer of brittle shards cracking beneath his feet.

Nothing felt normal. A chill air lingered over the island, strangely echoing yet silent… only dully aware of the muffled winds beyond its icy banks.

The storm couldn't be heard at this distance.

It was too calm here.

"Well, this place isn't eerie," Skyla tapped the ice beneath her feet, chipping away a shallow layer of broken shards as she looked around.

"I'd use the word serene, but it's too dark for that," Xera replied, keeping his steps light as he moved away from the airship.

Up on the jagged outcrop before him, at the center of the island, floated the towering breach of their reality. Its size suddenly felt so much more immense, now that he was standing under it.

"Something tells me taking a fall here wouldn't end well," Coco commented from off to the side, crouching at the edge of their plateau, "There's no way back up."

"Not unless you climb," Velvet muttered, but her hands instinctively closed in on themselves as she stared down the outcrop below.

"Climbing would be difficult," Coco let her breath freeze in the air as the icy wall beneath her shined red, crimson waves crashing against its base.

This was ice. No grip, and with every slip… your fingers were grasping at razor blades on the way down.

There was no climbing back up. Not without something sharp and sturdy.

A quiet tap of a cane slipped into the veil of dull echoes, catching the attention of the departing students, "I believe time is a factor here?"

Ozpin's stoic voice was graced by a momentary flash of red light and a following crack of thunder. His silver hair fluttered in stray strands against the swirling air, but his experienced eyes took in everything before him in a calmness that rivaled the eye of a storm.

"You kids better get up there. Are you sure six is all you're capable of?" Caza asked, stepping up to Ozpin's side as she placed a delicate hand over her holstered revolver, "No more than that?"

"With each additional party, it gets more difficult to maintain a link between their body and souls inside the dimension and the real world," the girl cloaked in white responded, six teens gathering behind her as they looked up into the dark rift above.

"Then leave it as six," Ozpin replied, taking a glance to Glynda as she stepped up to his other side, "We'll remain here."

"If anything goes wrong, I expect you to withdraw all of the students from the dimension with or without their consent," Glynda stated.

"The connection must be mutual for there to be any direct effects. I cannot simply pull anyone out without them willing it," the girl responded.

"Trust me, we'll be willing it!" Skyla called back, giving the three authority figures a wave from the raid party.

"Then be on your way, and do be cautious. From the information I've gathered, this is the weakest he will ever be," Ozpin ushered the girl forward, and she took a step back with a slight bow and a nod before turning toward her group of six.

"I take it we're not jumping," Destiny commented, nodding up to the rift in the sky.

"We're not jumping," Xera replied, "The distance between the rift and the highest part of this island is well over 150 feet."

"Shouldn't be an issue," Destiny returned, letting her white book withdraw itself from her holster as she summoned Soarix, her eagle, "I can take one other with me, any more than that will weigh Soarix down too much."

"I'll go," Ruby volunteered, stepping toward Destiny as the wolf-faunus helped her onto her summon's back.

Weiss was noticeably standing as far away from the bird as possible.

"Still afraid of clinging to the back of an avian creature there, ice queen?" someone's fiery voice cut in as Weiss jumped, a hand tapping her shoulder.

"I believe that's none of your concern, Yang. I'm perfectly fine with sitting on the back of a bird," the heiress quickly replied, taking a step back as she faced her teammate, "Besides, this one's not a nevermore."

"Close enough, don't you think?" Yang replied with a small smirk, but that smile quickly lost its amusement and found something… genuine, "Make it back, will ya? And… make sure my sister stays safe in there."

"Yaaaang, we'll be fine," Ruby called out from her mounted position, small hands gripping the feathers in front of her.

"You better be!" Yang replied, giving her sister a wave.

"I'll do my…" Weiss tilted her head, pausing for a moment before rewording her response, "I promise I'll do what I can."

"Good," Yang returned, giving the heiress's white hair a quick toss, "I'll see you when you get back. And you too sis! We'll make cookies!"

"Woo! Cookies!" Ruby threw her hands in the air, nearly falling off the back of Soarix. A swift grip of her cloak from Destiny kept her from tumbling.

"Hands on the feathers, little red. We'll be taking off soon," the wolf faunus let go as soon as the girl regained her balance, giving Soarix's feathers a small pet.

Weiss gave Yang her own wave goodbye before her icy blue eyes cast their gaze to the rest of the party, searching for her own viable entry into the rift.

* * *

Skyla's own eyes found themselves sweeping around before she noticed something off to the side, "Hey, Xera…"

"Hmm?" Xera's attention fell on his partner, more specifically, the poking finger jabbing at his shoulder.

"Dante and foxy are having a touching moment over there," his partner pointed with the same finger in the direction of the immortal.

"Probably, but not really our business to pry," Xera said.

"We should totally pry," Skyla whispered, before her eyes caught something else, "Aaactually, you know what, I'm gonna go over there now… play with my own kitsune for a moment. You uh, you have fun!"

_Fun? _Xera turned to see his partner gone, dashing across the ice to Kitsuki and Ciel by the bullheads. She proceeded to dive-tackle Ciel's side, resulting in nothing more than a hug.

He watched Skyla for a moment before something drifted through the wind, catching his senses. He recognized the scent immediately, something only one person used for their shampoo…

His eyes turned further and he turned around. Blake stood a few feet behind him, tucking one hand behind her human ear to keep her flowing hair in check. The tips of her bow fluttered in the wind, but he only saw that as her cat ears and nothing else.

"You have nothing to worry about," he said, turning his gaze to the rift in the sky, "I'll be fine."

"You usually are," Blake responded quietly, her eyes nowhere else but on Xera. The wind around them stilled for a moment, before picking back up, causing her chin to dip ever so slightly.

"But?" Xera asked, meeting amber eyes with his own as he closed the distance between them, taking up Blake's free hand as an orange flame flickered from his own.

She wasn't cold anymore.

"This is different," she spoke softly, interlacing her fingers with Xera's as she looked off to the side, "I've been putting this off… and I know you have to do this, but I can't just watch you go without…" her voice trailed off as her chin dipped further.

"Then I'll make this easy for you."

Xera tugged Blake's arm as he let his wings slip out of the slits in the back of his sweatshirt. His feathers quickly unfurled and built a shield between them and everyone behind them.

He ignored the suddenly disheartened groans on the other side of his feathers, one of which was blonde and was in the middle of cheering them on.

The cat faunus's usual balance was thrown off when Xera reached a foot forward, stopping her dominant leg from taking its instinctive step. Instead, Blake was pulled into his arms and he immediately supported her weight, letting gravity press her against him.

"Think you can manage?" Xera asked with a small smiled, paying attention to the small gasp leaving Blake's lips and her shining eyes turning up to meet his own.

Those amber orbs flicked down for a moment, staring at what she wanted to do… but found herself wanting Xera to play the instigator this time.

"Keep giving me that needy face, and I'll _really _get the wrong idea," Xera whispered, leaning his head down and stopping just short of Blake's lips. He tilted it ever so slightly as he watched her amber eyes slowly begin to close.

"I still have my request after this is all over," Blake muttered, her voice a breathless murmur.

"What does that have to do with anything?" the phoenix asked softly.

"It has to do with everything…" Blake breathed out, closing her eyes as Xera captured her soft lips in his own.

* * *

"Whoa, is the storm clearing?" Sun suddenly asked, feeling a buzz rush through his golden monkey tail.

"No dude, i-it's totally not c-clearing up," Neptune responded shakily, arms wrapped tightly around an icy pillar far away from the island's edge.

"Really? I swear, it just got warmer or something," Sun replied, letting his open shirt drift slightly in the warm wind.

"You two are imagining things. And Sun, aren't you already weather resilient?" Anna pointed out, poking his bare abs for a moment before pushing her hands back into the pockets of her coat.

She was the only one of team SNAR who was fully bundled up.

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm weather resistant alright," Sun threw his arms out at his sides, tilting his head up as he took in a deep breath, "This? This is nothing."

"Either way, he wasn't wrong," Rideat cut in, sitting on top of the pillar Neptune currently embraced with all his might. All eyes turned to the blind teen atop his perch as he settled his chin against his palm, "The temperature in the air rose a couple degrees a few seconds ago."

"Do you know why?" Anna asked, looking up to her partner, the orange fox ears beneath her furry hood folding back against her head.

"Unfortunately," Rideat sighed, ignoring two aura signatures toward the center of the island, "I do."

* * *

"Alright, we should be on our way now," the cloaked girl said, gathering the attention of the six before her, "Xera, you can fly so you'll need to carry Weiss and Skyla into the rift. Inuba can as well so she'll follow closely with Dante, but she won't be entering with you."

The girl kicked up into the air, the bottoms of her shoes glowing white as she rose up further, cloak waving in the wind as she extended her hands to the teens below her.

"Go."

The smallest of tugs suddenly pulled at their aura, but the foreign feeling quickly disappeared as soon as it arrived. With that done, Soarix leaned back and unfurled its wings, taking off into the air a moment later with Ruby and Destiny on his back.

Xera held out his arms, reinforcing them with his aura as he gripped the forearms of Weiss and Skyla at his sides, their hands doing the same with his.

With his grip locked, his wings shot out to full wingspan before catching a fabricated updraft and throwing him into the air. The temperature in the atmosphere suddenly rose drastically, the air directly around Xera even moreso as he adjusted its levels to force an even greater updraft beneath him.

Lastly, Inuba took Dante's healthy arm and kicked up into the air, the bottoms of her soles blazing with white flame as she streaked into the air behind the rising party.

The air around them was getting colder now as the rift came into view, approaching them as quickly as they approached its gate. Nothing but blackness and scattered, blinding lights stared back at them in a seemingly clear, empty void… or so it looked.

As soon as they leveled themselves with its center, they gazed in to find a rocky outcrop on the inside. It was weathered, gray, brittle stone, and it reached the bottom of the gate as if it were acting as a bridge for anyone to enter.

"That's our landing zone!" Destiny called out, flying close to the rift's large opening as she looked inside, "I can't see anything past it!"

"It's all we need! Get inside for now!" Dante called out from behind, Inuba pulling him above the rest of the party as the two flyers up front moved forward.

After a moment of hesitation, Soarix entered a dive and swooped into the darkness, followed by Xera as he slipped inside the veil of blackness as well.

All of them were still visible on the other side, as if they did nothing else but step through a window… and Dante watched as they all touched base on the rocky ledge on the other side.

"Hold on tight, master. And don't break anything when you land," Inuba said, kicking back in the air before beginning to spin.

"I'll try not to..." Dante replied, giving the kitsune a thankful smile, "I'll see you when I get back."

"Promise?" Inuba asked.

"Promise."

Inuba spun one last time, her fox tail trailing behind her… before slinging Dante forward with a sudden burst of white flame.

* * *

**Xera's POV**

The transition into the dimension was… abrupt. Whatever sound that wracked the air outside suddenly disappeared. I couldn't hear the waves, the thunder, the softly howling wind…

It all just vanished as soon as I passed the threshold of the gate.

Instead, a cold silence settled over the new world I found myself in… a dark, deep, bottomless world.

"Don't look down," I muttered, but they didn't listen. My two passengers gazed down in the same direction I was staring, and Weiss immediately started kicking her legs and making some vain attempt to pull herself up my arm.

"Why would you say that?!" she shrieked, and I watched her snap her eyes closed.

"Whoa…" Skyla gasped, staring down in awe, "Weiss! Weiss, you should see this…"

"N-Not a chance!" the heiress replied, keeping her eyes shut tight, "J-Just get us on land already."

"I'm not really sure what constitutes the difference between land and… space, here," I replied quietly, staring down into an endless void of pure, pitch-blackness and burning stars.

It looked endless, like we were dropped in an airless space, surrounded by nothing but a spanning universe and orbs of distant, burning starlight. Everything felt still all of a sudden, and I realized there wasn't much wind here, but…

Somehow, I was still able to fly. Which meant there was air here, it just wasn't moving.

We could breathe, for now.

As soon as the stones passed beneath us, I lowered Skyla and Weiss to the ground and set them down softly. Above me, I saw Inuba throw Dante into the rift's entrance, her form waiting to see if he landed alright on the other side.

"I'll be right back," I flew back up into the air, closing the massive distance of a gap between the descending immortal and where our landing zone was. I met him halfway and caught his uninjured arm, spinning to kill his momentum as my affinity worked to heal any torn fibers in my muscles.

"Nice catch," Dante commented, his iron grip stronger than my own as I started to lower us toward the ground.

"Things are… strange here. I don't want to see what happens if a meteor crashed into the stone bridge they're standing on down there."

"Good point, but I could've killed my momentum once I hit the ground," Dante replied, letting himself dangle.

"Just being safe."

Dante's running sneakers touched base with the ground below and I let go, then dropped a moment later to follow the immortal. I took a moment to look around, noticing whatever outstretch of land before us seemed to ascend, as if going uphill to a crest in the distance.

Soarix suddenly evaporated, dispersing into fragments of Destiny's aura as the girl lowered to her knees, hand pressed against her chest.

"I-is anyone else…" Skyla's voice choked out from behind me, and I quickly turned to watch her fall to the ground as well, "h-having… a-a hard time… breathing?"

The air…

Without thinking, I quickly tapped into my aura and reached out with my flames, sending fire in a bright crashing wave into the forms of everyone on the ground.

Dante and I were the only ones still standing.

My fire lingered, flickering off their skin as I focused, melting my affinity into their aura. I filtered whatever it was circulating through their lungs and expelled it.

_"Your flames don't just destroy, they can heal and save lives. You just have to let them."_

Leona seemed to always have the right idea, even after she's been gone for so long…

My flames acted as a filter for the air, and almost immediately the pressure on the lungs of each of the girls on the ground suddenly released. All of them gasped for air, taking in their deep breaths while they could.

"Those flames are attuned to your aura signatures, so they won't go out unless your aura runs dry. If that happens, I'll have to supply the energy needed myself to keep them kindled," I informed, carefully watching as each one started to even out their breathing again.

"H-how does that," Destiny pushed herself to her feet, brushing down her knees as she stared at me, "make sense?"

"My affinity has a healing factor to it," I explained, watching as my flames quietly glowed and flickered off her skin, "but the fire also has a high aptitude to burn away toxins and viruses, and whatever else that can harm the body. It keeps me from getting sick, but I found that it can help others, too."

Destiny took a second, but she eventually gave me a sure nod. My eyes then turned to the other girls as they stood, save for Skyla.

She was busy sitting and playing with her flames.

_We have too big of a party to take things as quickly and urgently as Dante and I did in Zerath's mind. _I realized, offering Skyla my hand, _We can't just rush in. I'd rather us stay safe than risk anyone's lives._

She accepted my help and I pulled her to her feet, letting her bounce for a moment before I turned and faced the slope, "We should go. Just be careful, we'll need to watch each other's backs in here."

"Who's taking the back?" Dante asked, walking up to my side.

"I figured you and I would take the front, making sure we had a strong frontline. Anyone who's more of a supportive role would take up the center, leaving the back for someone capable of sensing anything off," I replied, turning to regard Weiss and Destiny.

They were our supportive roles, and thankfully, they got the point of the simple glance.

"Ruby and I can be the caboose," Skyla offered, pointing to the back of the pack.

"Yeah, we can keep everyone covered. Besides, I need a little range if you guys encounter something up front," Ruby added, agreeing to Sky's terms.

"Are you sure? I mean, with my Semblance I could cover us from all sides," Dante asked.

"Sky's more than capable, if that's what you're worried about," I said, giving Skyla a confirming nod and letting her pull Ruby along with her, "Thanks, both of you."

Skyla flashed me a thumbs up and skipped the rest of the way to the back of the group. Somehow, I knew we'd be fine… with a sniper's trained eye and my partner keeping watch over us.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but isn't she a little… what's the word I'm looking for…" Dante wondered, keeping his voice low, "Easily distracted?"

I could only shrug my shoulders, "She may seem that way, but I trust her capabilities with my life."

"Well, if you put it like that," Dante took a minor glance over his shoulder, then turned to face ahead of us, "then I trust her too."

"Do we have snacks?!" Skyla's voice called out, immediately getting a momentary dip of the head from Dante, the poor immortal seemed tempted to take back his words all of a sudden.

"Sky, this is a dimension in another realm. We're here to hunt down and bring an end to an evil being that's been tainting our world for far too long. We're on a mission to destroy him," I called back, giving her a wave over my shoulder before turning around, extending my arms, "Of course we have snacks."

"Yayy!" Sky cheered, throwing her fists in the air.

"Me too!" Ruby called, holding her hands out as well.

"Really?" Weiss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as Destiny hid a small smile. The heiress glanced back and saw Ruby giving her, and me, an excited nod, "Fine, I… will admit, it'd be nice to be supplied."

I threw a couple granola bars at them before I moved on, beginning our first few steps up the hill. We fell into a decent formation as quickly as we started moving, and thankfully, we stayed like that.

The ground felt brittle, dusty almost. It was pale and weathered, appearing almost dry and white in contrast to the darkness around us. The light from the stars was enough to illuminate the dimension, or world, or whatever this place was.

It gave the place a deathly surreal atmosphere… as if we were drifting, but stationary in a vast abyss of lifeless space.

There was no way we were alone, but it felt like that.

"This place… looks oddly familiar to me…" said Dante.

"Familiar?" I asked.

"It," he paused, turning his gaze up for a moment, "almost looks like the Dark World…"

"The Dark World," I sifted through the memories I knew of, only finding glimpses of what he was talking about, "how similar are we talking?"

"Very. If I didn't know any better, it's almost as if he's recreating fragments of it. The entrance, for instance, it was exactly the same as when I entered through the last time."

"You think he's recreating the Dark World in his own image? With his own rule?" I asked slowly, glancing back to the entrance behind us. It didn't look any smaller.

"From what I learned a while back, the Dark World sustains itself through negativity, Dark, and in most cases, evil. Considering a multitude of Dark beings live in the Dark World, they basically feed it enough of their own Aura to the point where it became self-sustaining. A dimension requires a lot of energy to… well… exist."

"To start a dimension like this, how much energy are we talking?" I could only imagine how much would be required, but I needed a solid answer. If Zeridûl was capable of manifesting this much energy, and so quickly, that wasn't something we could ignore.

"A lot more than you probably think possible, but that's only needed for the creation. There is a point in time where a dimension can gather enough energy to keep itself infinitely powered, since it'll eventually start producing the necessary energies it needs on its own. If he's doing what I think he's doing, then Zeridûl may very well be attempting to create his own Dark World. But… there's something else that's been bugging me for a while now…"

I turned my gaze to him as we walked, the incline getting steeper now, and somehow feeling longer, "Is it sorta bad? Or… really bad?"

"Honestly, I shouldn't say unless I know for a fact that what I'm thinking is the case. A dimension of this caliber coming into existence so soon? It's just too quick and convenient. But I've had wrong theories before… Unless I know more, I'm keeping quiet about this theory of mine. Dangerous secret and all that."

"If it's detrimental to any of this, just… don't keep it to yourself for too long. I might not know the full extent of whatever it is you're concerned about, but if it's as bad as you make it sound, I don't think that matters," I responded, mulling over his words. He was holding something back.

Not just something, but a secret too dangerous to even bring up and be wrong about. Something that could possibly insinuate something far outside our capable levels.

"When it comes time," I said, noticing the slope's incline begin to lessen.

"Xera…" his voice grew serious, moreso than his usual, "If you knew for a fact that something existed that could make your deepest wishes or desires come true… how far would you be willing to go to have it in your possession?"

"I would assume all the lives in the worlds, if someone wanted something like that," I replied, my walk slowing slightly.

Deepest wishes… huh?

"And if this thing could actually return the dead without the price of sacrificing others? What then?"

"Something that can cheat death like that, with no cost at all, sounds like a dream in and of itself. There are certain unsaid rules in existence, or so I like to think. One of them is keeping the dead, well… dead. Anything past that is breaking that person, returning them as something more faded than when they were alive." My voice trailed off and I let my eyes slowly fall, eventually turning them to Dante.

"And if this thing bypassed every law or rule imaginable, making the person whole again without any issue? You'd be tempted even the slightest amount, yes?"

"I know what you're insinuating," I sighed, but there was something else to it that beat whatever desire I had… to bring her back, "but no, I'd never be tempted for something like that."

"I don't know whether to believe that or not. But listen carefully and listen well. All it takes," he raised up his still bandaged but now functional right hand, pinching his index finger and thumb together, "is that single shred of temptation to get you to act without thinking about anything else. And with what I have in mind… it acts upon it in such a way that it empowers you to follow that desire all the way to the end. Do you understand now why I want to keep quiet about this?"

Dante turned his head back slightly, looking at the others following closely behind.

I took in a slow breath, letting my hands fall deep into my pockets as I turned to the immortal, "There are some things in life that just… happen. For me, if I were ever offered a chance to bring my mom back, I wouldn't need to think about it, even for a moment. I'd be killing her again if I brought her back to life, but in the worst way possible. I can't do that to her… she'd never be okay with that."

The slope was nearly level now, but I stopped paying attention to it as I let out a quiet sigh.

"But," I continued, "I know what you're getting at, and I know how temptation can lead to something beyond corruption. Whatever this is, whatever it's capable of, it feeds on will that's easily persuaded or turned. It draws on all the negative emotions we look at as sin," I felt my irises change, melting into a dark green as they turned back ahead of us, "It's of Dark descent, isn't it…"

"The opposite actually… It's something in between."

"Whatever made it is one thing, but how it's used now is another. If this thing can take the smallest of temptations and turn that into burning desire, then it can be used to drive anyone to the point of no return."

"That's unless the person holding it knows exactly what it is and how to use it. Then… it becomes a tool. A tool that can be wielded with such ease it's honestly a little terrifying."

"You think Zeridûl somehow found one of these…" I realized, letting my words linger in the still air as I let them fall to silence.

"I don't know… Which is why I'm keeping quiet about it for the most part. Ever since stepping foot in here, our friend in the hood allowed Inuba and myself to sense these… disruptions, or fluctuations. There have been many fakes over the years, and each give off the same sort of presence. The only way to know for sure is if it's in my hands."

"You make it sound like someone can build something like this, and actually have it work to some extent," I said, but I started to wonder what would happen if Zeridûl possessed an authentic version, not a fake.

I could tell he wasn't sure what this one was, which version it was or if it was present, but there was something there.

"It can be built. The materials are… rather easy to obtain. The only difficult part is the amount required to make one."

"And here I thought it'd be nearly impossible to make, considering what it can do," I muttered.

"Nothing is impossible… So long as you have the right thing and amount to pay."

"Impossibility is only relative, but it sounds like your logic revolves around cheating the system. Something like that, that alters reality, really shouldn't be obtained through any remotely normal means. And yet, you say someone can do anything if they have something to trade for it."

That logic felt… unfair, in every sense of the word.

"As unfair as you imagine it to be, it exists, whether to provide some twisted amusement for a being of greater power… or simply a being benevolent enough to provide you with options no one else can. But these options are never free. Truthfully though, it's more of a question of equivalent exchange. Give something of equal value to get something of equal value."

The concept was as tactless and superficial as you can imagine. It removes any trace of reality from anything relative and throws it away, leaving behind scraps that something else picks up to start playing with. It was a concept that completely disregarded anything past existence itself and the effects drawn from significant changes to it.

It takes these changes lightly… no wonder why we have so many timelines, so many paradoxes and alternate universe. Some dimwit with power, or some benevolent being with all the knowledge conceivable, something out there has the power to change or grant anything.

And they're willing to give that power, that option, at the request of something in return, as if it needed anything of any trivial, or major, value at all. It was a system designed to make itself sound fair, to make it justifiable.

It was nothing more than cheating in a vast existence too delicate to be stable on its own, it just keeps breaking everything over and over again at the will of something else. How many times has this happened… to create so many discrepancies in the relativity of it all?

How far can that being go… before it has to take everything back and start again?

"Sooner or later, something's going to break if that system remains in place. A trade of equal value can be anything, and for anything, but it's always at the will of the being on the other side of the exchange. How many beings exist that have this power?" I asked, if he even knew the answer to that question.

"Currently? As in on their own with their own power?"

"Yeah," it'd at least give me a possible range to think about.

"Two. The Creator… And Dakini."

"Your goddess…" I realized, recalling a certain memory that was… hard to forget.

"They called her Demon Fox Goddess Dakini, known for her wrath and fury on the battlefield that surpassed any and all that stood before her. Her power… is great. What most people don't know is that Dakini is a wish granter. She accepts almost any type of payment you can think of, anything tradeable or able to be exchanged that is equal to the value of what you want or desire. It's how she's able to grant the wish at all. Say you want three hundred dollars cash. You give her something of that value, and your wish is granted. Say that you want to save someone's life from certain death. You either give a life or your life in return, or-"

He suddenly raised his hand to his head and winced slightly. It looked as though he was having a headache, trying to remember that last detail, but falling just short of it.

For someone who couldn't feel pain, there was something definitely off there, "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm just… drawing a blank right now."

"You're not one to feel pain, I don't think that was _just _drawing a blank there," I replied.

"Okay then smarty pants, it's more like I'm trying to remember a detail, but there's a block there. And it feels like I'm constantly running into a wall…"

"Then stop thinking about it for now," if it digs that deep into his mind to cause pain, whatever it's blocking is something that was purposefully sealed off, whether that was by him… or someone else, "I'd rather you keep your mind here and intact while we do this. You can keep trying to figure out if Zeridûl is using what you think he's using, but for now, we're in a place known only to him, and him alone. He has power here. We need to not forget that."

"I know that. What are you, my mother now?"

He seemed… unusually irritated than his usual self.

"You look nothing like me, so I think that's proof enough," I replied easily, the path ahead of us no longer feeling like a climb, but a gentle hill. Whatever was on the other side… we were about to see in the next few seconds.

Taking everything into account though, Dante felt off. I've known him for, what, only a week or two total in terms of total accumulated time? That's more than enough to get a grasp on how he'd ordinarily respond, let alone act.

That? That wasn't Dante… That was something else weighing down on the Dante I knew.

One glance around, and I was starting to wonder if this dimension was that factor.

***munch***

I heard someone bite into their granola bar, and one amused glance later showed Skyla at the back of the pack snacking on her sweets already.

The audible "hmph" she made with her next bite only brought a giggle to the girls around her.

Somehow, she was lessening whatever tension there was around us… and reducing it to bearable levels. I… was thankful, for that.

The silence around us no longer felt so heavy, and when we reached the peak of this sloping bridge, I realized how small I truly was… in a world so massive. My walk stopped, grinding to a halt as I looked out over the slope's crest, my irises reflecting the shining lights that flickered in the distant reaches of the realm.

Everyone else made it up as well in the next few seconds, falling in line with me as we all gazed out from the top of this pale hill.

It was a black citadel in the sky.

The bridge we were on led down to what looked like a floating mountain, if only they formed upside down. Dark, icy crystals made up the structure beneath the floating landmass of pale stone, jaggedly reaching far into the abyss below and sharpening into a point at the mountain's tip.

What we saw before us… was a city. Take everything you knew of about Mount Olympus and corrupt it, mold it into spires of tall towers and sharply pointed corners. Take the elegant, Athenian architecture of the Greeks and twist it, burn it, and freeze it.

Take it all and blacken it, creating a new world before us. Torches were ablaze on rooftops and in windows of different levels, glowing in crimson lights across the massive, elevating expanse of the literal city before us.

The lowest levels, where the bridge connected into, seemed to be the residential district, given the smaller buildings making up the majority of the front part of the mountain's base. Elevated by central stairs, running from somewhere in the center of this district, was another layer of the city.

Larger buildings were built there, all in the same black marble stone that made up the rest of the city. Buildings of greater size resided there, only suggesting a commercial or industrial district for the working-class.

Beyond that was a third level at the furthest part of the mountain's reversed base, making the city feel like a sloping hill of buildings that lead up to its highest peak of importance.

The palace, or whatever he happened to call the structure up there.

It was the largest building, by far, and it was built at the top of an immense staircase in the distance. Its flames were the brightest, its pillars the tallest, all reaching the furthest into the dark sky above.

This was a city of demons… and we were going to the top of it.

"Welcome," A voice cut in before I could take my next step.

An unforgettable… condescending voice.

Its dark, icy undertone came from everywhere, causing the loose stones across the bridge beneath us to drift as it drew through a slow, immense pull of reverberation.

"Welcome to my kingdom, my… new world," Zeridûl's voice continued, and I noticed the burning lights of his kingdom suddenly blazing in tall columns of red flame.

He knew we were here…

"One of you is false, the other a betrayer. Two of you are weak in resolve and in power, while the other is a being built by ignorance, but the last of you… you intrigue me."

The stones beneath us began to chip away as I fell to my knee, placing my hand on the ground at my feet as two at my side fell along with me, then the rest of us were forced to the ground. My mind reeled from the sudden change in gravity, and all of a sudden… the bridge began to erode away.

"You bring with you an immortal and four friends, all willing to risk themselves for the betterment of your world, a world hardly worth saving," Zeridûl continued, his voice getting louder as it bared down on us.

The gravity doing the same.

"You are challenging a _god_," he growled, a large piece of the bridge at our side breaking off and falling into the darkness below, "Yet, you challenge me anyway."

The warped gravity began to deteriorate, reducing its hold… but only slightly.

The bridge continued to fall apart.

"Why do you march to your own demise?" Zeridûl asked, the world seeming to shake around us as the bridge crumbled beneath our knees.

"Haven't you heard?" Dante growled back, his one good arm digging into the stone below as he forced it down, crushing it beneath his fingers as his legs sunk into the cracks, "I'm a godslayer."

He forced himself to stand, legs enduring the increase in gravity as he forced a step forward.

The ground gave way beneath his foot, crumbling to dust and forcing him to remain in his place.

"A godslayer in your reality, perhaps," Zeridûl responded, voice ripping through the ground and causing the entirety of the bridge behind us to shatter, "You are in my domain, you live beneath my rules now… and my laws. I am the overseer of this dark reality, and you willingly entered on your own volition."

An echoing, wailing howl suddenly broke through the air at our backs, and with an incredible effort just to turn my head enough to see what it was… I caught the final moments of the rift closing in on itself.

The tear that opened this world into our reality, our home, slowly began to collapse.

Its borders were nothing more than a sliver of the stormy sky outside before it started to struggle, refusing to seal completely.

"She'll grow tired soon enough," Zeridûl spoke in disregard of the matter at hand, letting the rift's entrance remain like that as I turned my gaze back to the city, "After all, I never intended to build my army entirely from scratch. I have… company that I'm expecting. The gate was open for their arrival… not your entry."

He was expecting something. The size of the gate, when we first got on this island, it was massive. It spanned the entire reach from here to the clouds above…

What was he drawing into his realm?

No, what was he pulling in… to force everyone outside to face on their own?

"No matter," Zeridûl's voice reduced the underside of the rest of the bridge to nothing, all of it eroding away to a thin, brittle, narrow pathway to his city's front gate.

That was when the gravity receded.

"Looks like I'll get to have my fun, before the end. Out of everyone," his voice slowly receded as well, no longer descending from the space around us… but directed down from the city's highest structure, "you two were the ones who actually put up a fight."

The gravity dispersed completely, the silence soon filling the air once again as the pressure on our bodies returned to normal.

"I await you at the peak of Eryndûs," he called down one last time, "I wonder who will last longer. You… or your friends."

And then his voice faded, leaving us in silence… and in darkness once again.

"Forget what I said earlier," I growled, rising to my feet, "We need to hurry."

It wasn't a mission to end a life anymore. It was a mission to save as many as possible.

* * *

**So, this happened to be the first chapter that I decided "Hey, andy, let's open up a Google Docs and **_**actually **_**work together on this one." Woo, change.**

**A: Woah woah woah, I've provided excellent help in the form of ideas, concepts, and opinions. Plus I did a lot of dialogue. What Xera meant to say was "work on this simultaneously at once." I think we wanted to do something like this before, but never got to actually doing it.**

**X: Hey, I was going solo up until this point for the most part, just asking a few questions every once in awhile when needed. You did happen to do a good bit of dialogue from time to time, but that was really just two occurrences directly and other instances of just changes to your characters. Now, though, I felt a little more was needed.**

**A: A good bit? My dear pigeon, I think you mean to say an excellent amount.**

**X: Granted, you made sure to keep Dante and all your other characters 'in-character', but I'm starting to wonder where my credit in all this is disappearing to… By the way, your "all-inclusive" terminology is… disregarding and, in some cases, a little self-inputted for personal significance.**

**My fic will not maintain some of andy's logic and greater beings, or on the other hand, it will contain more than he's presented. There's always something else out there, and that something is different between our two stories.**

**Nothing he can do can control anything that happens in my story, so there will be that amount of difference between possible concepts.**

**A: In short, I'm shackled a bit. Or screwed slightly. Take your pick.**

**Inuba: With pleasure.**

**A: Again with this?**

**X: She came out of nowhere…**

**A: Sure. Keep telling yourself that.**

**X: Well, when you conceive the perfect Waifu, one starts to wonder why you did it.**

**A: One begins to wonder why you haven't been cooked into Thanksgiving turkey yet.**

**X: I'm fireproof?**

**A: Not by the time I'm done with you…**

**X: I think you'll just piss off Sky. You don't want to know what happens when she gets emotional.**

**A: I'll be fine.**

**I feel violated…**

**A: Xera hasn't even been touched. Yet.**

**X: Lies!**

**A: A parrot will say anything to save their feathers.**

**X: Parrots can't make anything up, they replicate what's been done or said. Parrots don't lie, andy.**

**A: Yes they do, but we have no time for this nonsense. People are still here, remember?**

**X: Yeah, sure, like anyone's actually going to read this.**

**A: They will. Trust me.**

**X: Says the person who wants to cook me...**

**Cheers to anyone who made it this far.**

**I meant this chapter to be the start of the action, but a lot of exposition got added. So, it got drawn out quite a bit, and for that I'm sorry. I hope the ending was at least satisfactory for you.**

**We've built up to something great… let's see if we can follow it through.**

**REVIEW! Please, it's good to know what you're all thinking.**

**Favorite and Follow the story. Don't you want to know what happens next?!**

**Cya XP**


End file.
